The Manor

I stumbled on this little gem at its Santa Barbara debut. This film is a beautifully shot period piece, very cleverly written and well-directed. I'm looking forward to seeing it again when it comes to an independent theatre in L.A. Peter O'Toole is spellbinding and masterful. Everyone was well-cast. I especially enjoyed Edie McClurg as the cook. How refreshing to see a very intelligent, almost all-woman cast. Bravo to Ken Berris for this quality film!

This is an example of a movie where some judicious editing would have helped immeasurably.

The first half is an interesting whodunit in which Tomas, a Bohemian detective (well played by Martin Dejdar), attempts to determine the true story behind the death of a servant in the Ravenscroft mansion. His interaction with the mistress of the house, her daughter and governess, and the servants is amusingly prickly for about an hour. Unfortunately, impatience begins to set in when this same cat and mouse, back and forth continues on for another 40 minutes with all parties lying for their own reasons. To make matters worse, the scriptwriter has the inspector become increasingly drunk, an unnecessary plot turn that derails the tone set in the first half and which struck me as being distinctly out of character for Tomas. Ultimately, the resolution is not interesting enough to warrant the time and effort spent reaching it.

There are good performances from the whole cast, though top billed O'Toole is in the film only very briefly in flashbacks as the deceased patriarch. The set design and camera work are wonderful, top honors to art direction. Unfortunately, these positives are counterbalanced by an overlong tale muddled by useless plot contrivances.

This is one of those pictures where I find myself asking, "Why did so-and-so take this role?" The script is so-so and the direction bizarre at times. The actors are great, working their way through a not-completely-compelling whodunit.

The lead character is a Scotland Yard detective and therefore Must Ask Questions. A *lot* of questions. So there is a repeated pattern of question-answer, question-answer that gets grating after a while. As noted, the actors (especially Greta Scacchi) do a remarkable job of lifting this poor writing off the page and infusing it with wit and meaning.

Altogether I found it an odd film, trying desperately not to be a play (with bizarre editing) instead of just embracing its intimacy. The "mystery" gets buried beneath the direction but it might be something to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon when you're sick in bed.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Manor. It was much better than anything else I have seen in this genre. The plot is pretty tricky and you have to pay close attention to the various clues you get. I think all of the women have good motives for the killing and the director Kenneth Berris does not tip his hand too early. I liked that kind of restraint. It can also be seen in the texture of the performances. I have seen some of his previous work, mostly on those huge interactive titles in the late nineties like Spycraft, Blown Away, and Eraser Turnabout. I thought he brought that same kind of multiple plot lines that merge into one. The cast: Peter O'Toole, Greta Scacchi, Edie McClurg and Gabrielle Anwar were at the top of their game and the visuals were pretty sumptuous. I would recommend this to people who like dry humor. I also thought Fay Masterson was sensational in the role of Dolly/ It was much better than Gosford Park, which won an Oscar. I give it 5 stars. *****

The Manor, a dark funny version of Akira Kurosawa's " Rashomon" is a spectacularly shot & acted jewel. With an outstanding International Cast (Peter O'Toole, Greta Scacchi, Gabrielle Anwar, Fay Masterson, Martin Dejdar, Laura Harris, Nicholas Ball, Edie McClurg and Mark Huntley.. I had the pleasure of seeing it at a packed cinema in Germany. I really enjoyed seeing Peter O'Toole, described by no less than Anthony Hopkins as the world's greatest living actor. O'Toole gives the kind of comedic performance that we haven't seen from him since "My Favorite Year." Greta Scacchi gives the best and funniest performance of her entire life. But that's not all. There are so many other touches that the director Kenneth Berris gives it and populates the film with the best ensemble women I have ever seen. Fay Masterson, who I have seen in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and the wonderful film " The Power Of One" is a tremendously gifted comedienne. I haven't seen anyone like this since the days of Lucille Ball. Gabrielle Anwar , who I remember most from her memorable dance with Al Pacino in Scent of A Woman is luscious and delectable. Then Berris adds to this the great talents of Edie McClurg ( Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Nicholas Ball (Croupier), Laura Harris , who I loved in The Faculty, and the International star of stars, Martin Dejdar who is the new Gerard Depardieu. It's a pricelessly funny situation with more twists than a pretzel. I loved it. I give it 4 stars****