Letter to Brezhnev

Living and working in Liverpool in the mid 1980s I first watched this cheeky rom-com just after its release. Yes, it was and still is hilarious and yes, it does portray life in the city at that time, hard, depressing and at times, strangely uplifting.

I've just watched it again and although somewhat dated - hairstyles, clothes (not Margi Clarke's magnificent, timeless red dress) and of course much of the city which is correctly shown as run-down, drab and frankly, awful during its '80s nadir; its the spirit of the Scousers that always gets them through, then and now.

That legendary resilience is personified by Elaine (Alexandra Pigg) a pretty, girl-next door dreamer who somehow has to escape her life and surroundings. Ably assisted by her friend Teresa (Margi Clarke) they embark on a night out in town where amongst other wild activities they meet two Russian sailors in a club. Elaine is completely smitten with Peter (Peter Firth) and Teresa goes along for the ride with Sergei (Alfred Molina) in a manner of speaking...

The humour is harsh, sarcastic and 100% Scouse. The scenes between Clarke and Molina are the stuff of legend - realistic just doesn't do them both justice. Meanwhile, Elaine and Peter are falling in love. After a night of passion and a certain amount of philosophy there is another memorable scene when Elaine and Peter depart at the dockside as the boys have to leave for the Soviet Union.

Desperately in love, tetchy and lonely she decides on what seems a ridiculous scheme to re-unite with Peter. I found myself rooting for her, as I did almost 40 years ago. It's the girl's sheer guts that I admire the most about the film. She has little going for her as she runs up against the objections of her family, friends and the establishment. But she still has Teresa to help her an achieve her dream. Wonderful.

Taking place during the 'Cold War' the film describes two people falling in love during a time of massive unemployment and recession in the U.K. The main characters are Elaine and Theresa, two friends who are very different from each other. Elaine is unemployed, bored of her own life and the people around her. Theresa works in a chicken factory and is the opposite of Elaine – she tries to enjoy life, in her own way which involves drinking, having casual sex and taking opportunities when they arise. Elaine and Theresa meet two Russian sailors in a nightclub and Elaine falls in love with the shyer one – Peter – and after he gets back on his ship she decides to go to Communist Russia to be with him, but it doesn't seem so easy to do. In the 1980's there was a big difference between the countries on either side of the 'Iron Curtain'. There was seen to be more freedom in the Capitalist West than the Communist East.

The film shows the negative side of the lives of independent, 'free' women in the West; it tries to show that life in the West at that time was not what we are led to believe. Although we do not see life in Russia in the film, we are told there is work for all people there. For Elaine, Russia represents a happy life, a new start and hope for a job and a family. The film also shows the attitudes of the British to Russia, where they say there is no freedom and that Elaine may lose the opportunity to come back to her country. In my opinion, this film is propaganda for Russia as the director shows us the way that the British government constructed their own propaganda against Russia. Throughout the film the director shows us why life in the U.K. is no better, or may be worse, than life in Russia. We don't know if Elaine will be happier in Russia but she will have followed her heart and dreams.

Ah, but if only it were realistic. Because if anyone knows anything about the way the Soviet Union dealt with sailors in those days, the regime would never have let these two guys go off by themselves on shore, not even for a short while. I hope no one has to explain to you why. And even if this sweet young thing did get her chance to get a letter through to Brezhnev, he would surely be wondering how this sailor was able to free himself long enough to get into this situation in the first place, and I can tell you he wouldn't like it — even if the propaganda value might otherwise be useful.

But of course, romantic notions of life in the Soviet Union were not exactly rare at the time — especially, perhaps, in a very depressed place like Liverpool in the '80's. I wished Elaine luck, but it's kind of like watching one of those old Science Fiction movies and hoping the aliens and the earthlings can learn how to get along, because you know that in real life you don't really have to or get to.

I first saw this film when it came out and just fell in love with it. I cannot say why either, it just has a magical quality that draws you in. The setting obviously helps, Liverpool is a beautiful city, architecturally and spiritually and you get lavish helpings of both. The performances from the four lead actors are flawless to me, just the right balance of comedy and pathos, with special mention to Margi Clarke, whose brassy exterior hides a tenderness which she allows to shine through every so often.(As an aside I saw her do stand up once at Band on the Wall in Manchester, and boy was she rude!) I've seen comments on the boards saying people enjoyed it when it first came out, but now find it a bit ridiculous, and I can only totally disagree with them. I still watch this film at least a couple of times a year and never tire of it. If you haven't seen this gem, I can only suggest you get the DVD as soon as possible, and enjoy a film that exudes true human warmth.

set in 80`s Liverpool...the best love story since Romeo and Juliet,far from being sloppy,more in-your-face,honest truth from two Scouse lasses on a night out...they run into a couple of Russian sailors on a one-night pass and two fall in love during that night.. but he has to leave on his ship the next day....she encounter red tape by the mile in her attempts to visit him in Russia...so she goes straight to Mr.Brezhnev himself for help......hilarious,gritty,sad...and you will be smiling by the time the credits roll....