The Chain

The sort of film that reminds us that a nice story and a great cast still make a great film.

The film centres around a group of Londoners who run across the social spectrum who are all moving home on the same day, some of whom are being ably assisted by a gang of removal-men fronted by Warren Mitchell.

Among others, notable appearances from Nigel Hawthorne, playing a socially obsessed miser, Leo Mckern as a plutocrat who's decided to go back to his roots, and of course Mitchell himself who is clearly the wisest person in the whole film.

The pace is excellent and the characters well realised - and for anyone who loves seeing London on film it's a treat too.

It's a charming and very humanitarian film that you'll enjoy immensely if you allow it to.

...but not to the east side, "Jeffersons"-style. Rather, a study of the mind sets of the various social classes in London. The film might be simply described as 'a day in the life of London' as several people move houses, each to a more upscale neighbourhood, each to the house of the next one in the film. A 'nice little movie' is an apt description - there are no car chases, no action heroes, no blonde bombshells, just a study of what makes people tick. I grew up in Canada, but lived in London at age 20, and am somewhat familiar with the areas in question, and can't help but smile to myself as I watch this film. The philosophical musings of the moving crew boss can be a little confusing, particularly with his heavy accent, but all-in-all, it's a simple set of sub-stories to follow, each with its own particular flavour. A must-see for the film festival crowd, similar movies would be the West German-made "Aria" and the internationally directed "Night On Earth".

Talking Pictures have preceded this film with a warning that this film belongs to an earlier era and thus might offend some viewers. Tempos fugit!

When I met the veteran cameraman Wolfgang Suschitzky this was a film he recalled with particular pleasure. It deals with a situation probably only too familiar with people of all classes. The cast varies throughout the film but it's beating heart is Warren Mitchell who talks more like a philosophical social worker than a mere labourer, who declares that his job "Ain't a job, this is a public service!" commiserating with his clients that moving house is a trauma second only to bereavement and divorce.

This is a modern retelling of Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, with property transactions standing in for Schnitzler's sexual ones. Rosenthal also effectively plugs in the seven deadly sins.

Whilst it may seem like a TV drama, this was made for cinema release so it's a bit depressing that the only version seemingly available at the moment is in 4:3.

I'd forgotten just how good a script it is. It has dated a little since its release, but the cleverness of it, and some of the performances make it deserving of preservation. Mitchell and Hill are spot on as usual and Nigel Hawthorne and Anna Massey are particularly hilarious.

It's not perfect though. The awful source music (i.e. What people are listening to on the radio/ghetto blaster) that's meant to be "what the kids are listening to" but has clearly been composed by Stanley Myers to save money, really dates it, and there are one or two truly shockingly bad performances from some of the younger actors. Billie Whitelaw is totally miscast, and a number of the lines (mainly from the character Paul) don't land, which is the fault of the director. For these reasons it loses a star from me.

Overall though, they don't write em like this any more.

The Chain is a film that I can only describe as a gem. It is set in London in the Thatcher era , and does not shirk in its light critical observation of a London at a time of polarised beliefs and values.

The film is not just a journey of London Boroughs , but a journey to the very inner motivations and ideals of the class-ridden characters portrayed in the film. The writer uses the Biblical seven deadly sins in which to drive the film along . Warren Mitchell is superb as Bamber , the leader of the removal crew. A philosopher who never loses his sight of humanity , somehow makes sense of the most complex insecure people and situations that surround him in the day. My favourite line is "I've got my bricklaying at two". This underlined the Black Economy that existed in London , during a period of economic uncertainty. A must see , for any film buff into social criticism of the eighties.