Perfect Strangers

I caught this movie on a re-run on BBC America. It was late at night. the movie caught me unawares and drew me in to its web like a spider might. I spent the next several hours amazed at the tenderness of the story, the sadness of the characters and he sheer thrill of discovery just over the threshold. If only American TV could be so good. Ever so often you discover a jewel, Perfect Strangers (Almost Strangers in America on BBC America) is one of those jewels. It has a strong central character, plenty of supporting characters and people you find yourself rooting for. Secretly, we all have family members like these. A familiar face on a new wardrobe. Watch the movie. You will not forget it.

This drama is 4+ hours long but it held us in its power throughout. It was not originally intended to be seen all in one day, of course, but is so gripping that if you have it all you'll want to see it all. Some of Britain's finest stage and TV talent was gathered for this - the BBC must have known they were on to a good thing when they saw the script - and that talent is deployed masterfully.

It bears a passing resemblance to "Shooting the Past", another Poliakoff piece for which we have a lot of time. But Perfect Strangers is better. The story is more plausible, the script is better and the characters more rounded.

As far as TV drama goes, this is about as good as it gets. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best TV productions of the last ten years. It is being screened on BBC4 as part of the Poliakoff season, and it's a complete delight to see again. The whole cast is terrific. I could watch Gambon just standing in a bus queue.

Poliakoff himself says - a little diffidently - that he wants to make television that people remember. I expect most directors do, but few succeed. I have remembered stills, scenes, even expressions from this drama after five years. Watching it again was like looking through a photo album. It was 'familiar' in more ways than one.

(I've finally worked out that Jason Klamm's perplexing comment on this board is based on the presumption that Stephen Poliakoff's original drama is following on from some late 80's US comedy series. I promise you, the two productions have NO connection apart from the title... not even fifth cousins.)

There's a lot to like about this excellent British drama. The story about the relationships between the members of a family, may seem a bit too simple, and the lack of big surprises may disappoint some people, but anyone who takes a closer look, will discover a rich, subtle, heartwarming family drama that offers very authentic, original characters and more emotions and reality than any soap opera will ever do. Stephen Poliakoff's direction is impeccable, the casting is truly perfect (even for the smallest roles), the actors never less than wonderful. The beautiful music supports the dramatic events in a way that 'Perfect Strangers' will be in your head for several days. An absolute masterpiece.

Mild-mannered surveyor (a valuer, as we call them down here) Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen), an obscure member of the prominent and wealthy Symons family is invited, with his parents to a family reunion at Claridge's Hotel. The family, many of whom he has not met before are indeed a rich and varied bunch, and Stephen (Anton Lesser), a genealogist member, has collected all sorts of surprising information. Daniel also meets cousins Rebecca and Charles (Claire Skinner and Toby Stephens), and their elegant aunt Alice (Lindsay Duncan), who seem to hold the key to part of Daniel's own past. Daniel develops a rather un-family like attraction to Claire, which is a little awkward as she seems rather close to her brother, Charles.

Needless to say, a family like this has plenty of skeletons, but there are also some vaguely uplifting stories, like that of the sisters from Birmingham who by a fluke avoided a German bomb on their house and then lived for months during the war in the country by themselves. Then there is the photo, found by Stephen, which so intrigues Raymond (Michael Gambon), Daniel's father, of his father, a bitter stern man, dancing by himself in an ornamental garden. And who is the third child in the childhood photos of Rebecca and Charles?

All is explained, though the pace slows down a bit towards the end – in fact I felt I'd walked the long and damp distance between the mansion and the marquee too many times. Stephen Poliakoff has created an interesting set of minor characters also, such as wheeler-dealer Irving (Timothy Spall), Poppy the event organiser at the end of her tether (Kelly Hunter) and even Ernest the nonentity patriarch (Peter Howell). The whole thing for most of its 300 minutes has a festive feel to it – a celebration of belonging, for better or worse, to the human family. This family is a little over the top - it would not be surprising to discover they had issued their own visa card - but there's a lot of fun in finding out their secrets.