Getrennte Tische

John Schlesinger filmed Terence Rattigan's famous play from the 50's pretty much as is - there's no "opening up" of the play, and the two one-act segments are not combined, as they were in the 1958 film version. The play itself is, no surprise, dated and rather quaint, though you can see it must have seemed fairly sensational stuff back in the mid-50's, with allusions to sex crimes and homosexuality. At its best, though, it offers a penetrating depiction of loneliness and the stifling nature of English society at the time.

Also, most satisfyingly, it offers a banquet of tour-de-force performances. Julie Christie and Alan Bates are splendid and moving, each in dual roles, and make a fine team, as they have several other times as well. Claire Bloom is understated and marvelous, as always, and the supporting characters are picture-perfect. This is a cast that could hardly be bettered, and they make this perhaps the finest version of this particular play we are likely to see. Worth while for anyone who loves good acting!

What an interesting concept! Having only seen the 1958 movie, I had no idea that the original Separate Tables was written for two actors to double up on roles and show their acting range. I did know it was based on two Terence Rattigan one-acts, and that Hollywood merged them into one comprehensive story. The first act deals only with the Burt Lancaster/Rita Hayworth reconnection, and the second with the scandal of David Niven and Deborah Kerr's reaction to it. It's incredibly interesting (not to mention great fun for the actors) to have one actor play both Lancaster and Niven's roles, and one actress doll up for Hayworth and dress down for Kerr.

In this filmed live production, Alan Bates and Julie Christie collaborate for their dual roles. They have wonderful chemistry together, and with four films under their belts, we can hope they were friends and enjoyed working with one another. I loved seeing the physical transformation of Julie, with hair and makeup to match Rita Hayworth in Act One, and glasses, a dowdy hairstyle, and slumped posture in Act Two. She's a beautiful woman, and the audience is always aware of that, but she does the best she can to act emotionally stunted and therefore unaware of her looks and potential in the second act.

The acting absolutely shines in Separate Tables. The story is a bit thin, and some might not agree with the message, but it's wonderful to sit back and appreciate great actors collaborating. Claire Bloom has the enviable role of the innkeeper, and she handles it extremely well with professionalism and control. She truly is the "matriarch" of her residents, able to handle all of their quirks, and make it look easy. Irene Worth is so realistic in her role (Gladys Cooper in the movie) that it's impossible to imagine her without her snobbery, nosiness, and opinions. Alan and Julie both transform, making the most of the script to build their characters and convince the audience that they really are two different people. This is a very entertaining play, if you have the right cast to watch.

27 January 2010. This made of television version of the play, starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, and Claire Bloom brings the play on the small screen, richly maintaining the feel and atmosphere of the staged play itself. The characters' delivery of their lines with the subtle and sometimes dramatic nuance strikes a deep cord into the human condition and intimate human relationships as well as the societal condemnation and humiliation and tolerance of man's indiscretion. It's difficult to understand the power of this movie, in its depiction that seems to be razor sharp in scratching deeply the human emotional core. By the end of the movie, one can be considered transformed in a small way for having experienced the raw tension, the human conflict and resolution of several intertwining human events and interactions that play to our basic human lives. An amazing experience. 9/10.

The Hollywood version of this, though well thought of at the time, is pretty awful. So it's great that this version was done for TV, by the same folks who produced the often wonderful "American Film Theater" series some ten years before. Alan Bates was in three of those. He is typically fine here.... Julie Christie gets to stretch in the two parts She does here. Is it possible Julie Christie could have ever been such a repressed wallflower in real life?

It's great stuff. A few years back I picked up a copy (it's not on DVD) for nothing on ebay, now I see copies are going for forty bucks. Some things on VHS are bound to fall between the cracks when it comes to DVD. See this if you get the chance....

This twin set of plays, each entirely self-contained although tangentially linked in time and space, offer magnificent performances by inspired actors, perceptive dialogue, and a mirror. While the two one-act plays are somewhat dated, the principles that they delineate, including loneliness, a desire for dignity, bitter regret and the search for love are universal, and timeless.

Of particular note is Alan Bates, an actor who is able to convey a full-range of emotions, and creates two completely dissimilar characters convincingly. His retired army officer is exceptionally poignant; with the lift of an eyebrow, the clearing of his throat or the steeling of his shoulders, Bates inhabits the character of the lonely poseur with such grace and authenticity, that he makes you truly care about what happens to him, and makes you despise the hypocrites at the boarding house who condemn him for his shortcomings.

Julie Christie is equally brilliant, using her radiant beauty to stunning effect in the first play, and abandoning it in the second (quite bravely, for a woman and actress known for her legendary face)

This is, in the end, filmed theater, and the viewer feels as if he is actually sitting in front of the stage. While not taking anything away from the fine film version with David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Wendy Hiller and Rita Hayworth, this version is superior in all respects.