A Chorus of Disapproval

When I reviewed "The Revengers' Comedies" about ten years ago, I pointed out that the number of feature films based on the work of Sir Alan Ayckbourn could be counted on the fingers of one hand. That remains true today; the four that existed then ("The Revengers' Comedies", "A Chorus of Disapproval" and two by the French director Alain Resnais) have since been joined by a fifth, a Swiss version of "Season's Greetings", but no others. Sir Alan is one of Britain's most successful and prolific playwrights, with more than eighty full-length plays to his credit, most of which have been performed in London's West End and many of which have been adapted for television, but the British film industry has never taken much interest in his work.

When Guy Jones is transferred by his employers, a large electronics firm, to Scarborough, he joins the local amateur operatic society in order to make friends in the town, and becomes involved with their production of "The Beggar's Opera". Guy, a widower, begins an affair with Hannah, the neglected wife of Dafydd Ap Llewellyn, the society's autocratic Welsh stage director. Another plotline concerns a rumour that Guy's employers are considering purchasing a piece of waste ground adjacent to their factory, and several members of the society, hoping to make money from a piece of property speculation, try and obtain inside information from him. One offers him a cash bribe, and Ian Hubbard, a dodgy local businessman, tries to bribe him by offering the sexual favours of his attractive young wife Fay.

The film was directed by Michael Winner, a director whom I would not normally associate with comedy. The only other comedy of his which I have seen was "Parting Shots", a defiantly black and bad-taste, if sometimes effective, social satire, which could have been better but for some eccentric miscasting. One thing that "A Chorus of Disapproval" cannot be criticised for is the casting. The film features some of the leading lights of the British acting profession, including two major international stars in Jeremy Irons as Guy and Anthony Hopkins as Dafydd, and both play their parts perfectly well, as do most of the other cast members.

And yet I have never enjoyed the film as much as I did the original stage play when I saw it in the West End in the mid-eighties. Ayckbourn's success as a dramatist is due not merely to the quality of his plots and dialogue but also on matters which transfer less easily to the cinema screen, such as complexity of structure and his knowledge of stagecraft. (Besides being a playwright, he is also the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough). The screenplay for "A Chorus..." is very much abridged when compared with the original play, although not as much as "The Revengers' Comedies", which was a condensation of two plays into a single film. Winner's rather heavy-handed style of direction is probably more suited to a broad satire like "Parting Shots" than it is to Ayckbourn's more subtle comedy of manners. The original stage production I saw would probably have merited a nine, but something has gone missing between stage and screen. I cannot give the film more than 6/10.

Why this movie never got much attention has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Funny, sad and (as another commentator mentioned)absolutely veracious when it comes to the world of of amateur theatricals. Brilliantly written by Alan Ayckbourn, superbly cast and performed this film drew upon the cream of the British acting profession, and it shows. Why on earth Hollywood waited until the superficial Hannibal Lecter to award Anthony Hopkins an Oscar when it had his outstanding performance in Chorus of Disapproval is another of life's mysteries. I never get tired of watching it. For the commentator from Olive NJ who bucketed the film, he/she should be aware that the film is set in Yorkshire not Wales - different country.

With all the high-flying "special effects" movies around these days, this movie is a bare-bones, real-life-like story about real people in a small town and the relationships among them. The cast is fantastic. Jeremy Irons should have gotten an Academy Award for his performance. Anthony Hopkins also turns in an admirable character-driven performance that is just one more example of his outstanding acting ability. There were technical aspects of the photography and sound that could be criticized, but, ignoring those, it is a wonderfully portrayed story. Be sure to watch this film with someone who is a feeling person with a good sense of humor and an interest in different people with different personalities. This movie is one of my all time favorites.

Saw this, rather incongruously, with Spanish subtitles in a hotel in deepest, darkest Mexico... and made me feel a little homesick with its warm but too-close-to-the-bone portrayal of provincial English life. Lost dreams and opportunities, and eating chips in your car, staring at the gloomy sea and drizzle. Beautiful.

I am surprised that other reviews for this film are negative. If anyone has ever participated in an amateur operatic society then they know that this movie is bang on. Perhaps it is an in-joke, but for us in the know it is hysterical. Most surprising is Anthony Hopkins revealing a remarkable gift fo comedy. His performance alone is worth seeing this. Jeremy Irons is perfectly cast as the stranger who wanders into these "strange doings", and the supporting cast (including the wonderful Lionel Jeffries)are superb. In short, this is one my all-time favorite comedies, and a "must-see" for anyone who has trod the boards with amateurs. I would think anyone would find it amusing, but apparently some of the other critics are quite clueless when it comes to this film. It's not available for purchase, but don't miss it if you find in on TV or in a rental store--especially if you have done an amaatuer musical or are a Hopkins fan. I give it a 10.