BatonRougeMike

We all know Nighy's schtick by now and it is amply demonstrated here. Some will be taken in by it but not me. It's strictly by the numbers and seems to be directed by an earnest dogooder hoping to create something lovely and emotional. Instead it's embarrassing rot, ultimately. If they were trying to emulate the far superior Remains of the Day, stitched together with a bit of Phantom Thread, it just doesn't hold together. It's what passes though, these days, for 'quality' filmmaking but it has no discipline, no real control. Let's mix together some stiff British upper lip, reserve, a 1950s background, a couple of red London buses and some bowler hats and some a few dollops of sentiment...result is a gooey slice of British stodge. It's as if real studio control and discipline has been turfed out the window and some empathetic teenagers decide to 'come up with a really lovely film' etc. It is strictly fake, folks.

Carole Lombard, whose sacred name has been raised here, would have signed an exclusive contract with Warner Brothers and this would have gone to her, no question. Maybe she would have been considered for The Man Who Came to Dinner, too. Lombard was nowhere near as good a dramatic actress as Davis, Davis was nowhere near Lombard when it came to pulling this sort of movie off. We will never know. Hard to imagine Lombard and Davis battling it out for scripts though. Imagine Lombard in Now Voyager. Nup. Some things, alas, may just be best left alone.

This really hasn't weathered the decades very well. If it was meant to be a taut thriller it sags badly in parts and becomes more of an experiment in seeing whether or not you can last the distance. Blake Edwards' films practically all sag at some point as he wanders off into parts unknown before returning to the story, whatever it may be. Cast largely wasted in this although they can't be faulted as to their actual performances. Remick and Ford are very good but you've seen them in better roles.