Review of Vera Drake (2004) by Paul D — 29 Nov 2007

Ebert says: "A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it." In this case, the arc of the story in fact is not that interesting. All we know by the time we get to this scene (pictured above) is that Vera Drake is a character we cannot help but like. And by putting this hot controversial topic in a historical context where there is no pro-life or pro-choice -- it's a black-and-white question of morality, one that the son (pictured at the far right) subscribes to fully, basically condemning his own mother ... and one which you can see everyone else subscribes to also. Except that no one else wants to admit it.

The last half-hour or so is painful, and beautifully rendered by Imelda Staunton, who is so central to the film's success that it could have been a disaster without her. It's also wonderful to know (which I think I came to know and forgot by the time Ryan and I sat down to watch this) that there was no screenplay to speak of. The movie came from months of rehearsal and improvisation, and when the screenplay was nominated for an Oscar it had to be transcribed from the film since it had never been formally written down. That's a big kudos to those actors.

Only downside: it's a little long. I don't mind a long movie but it could have been just a little tighter.