Housewife, 49

This was a real treat last night on TV, and I hope they repeat it soon for all those who missed it. Victoria Wood proves again what a wonderful actress and writer she is. The great Stephanie Cole is formidable as the WVS boss, and David Threlfall is superbly restrained as Nella's emotionally repressed husband. Nella's wartime experiences mirror those of many ordinary housewives I am sure. An emotional roller-coaster! It was a joy to watch; sometimes we laughed out loud, especially at the jolly neighbours, and sometimes we had tears in our eyes. The costumes and props all looked very authentic; as Victoria herself remarked, it was hardly a glamorous role! I'm looking forward to a DVD....

As a long time fan of Ms Wood, I was very happy to watch this sojourn into the drama world. The writing contained her usual naturalistic flow, the evocation of 1940's Barrow was superb and the journey portrayed by Ms Wood as Ella was totally believable.

The subtle way in which she dealt with such issues as those raised by her son Cliff was heartening and again true of the period. Her grasp of the historical perspective, the way families lived and coped with the war was so very true and at the end of the film I was left with a sense of having witnessed real life not a drama.

Great acting from David Threlfall and Stephanie Cole.

The best thing on TV over Christmas by far!

Although I am not a fan of Victoria Wood as comedienne (I just never understood her comedy and therefore never found her funny) I was intrigued by the concept of this drama so I watched it.

I am glad I did, as it was a very well written drama that looks into life in the perspective of a mother Nella Last who sees her life change around her, more often than not in the way peoples attitudes are and also throughout the war realises she doesn't know those close to her including her family as well as she thinks she does, this in turn makes her look at her own lifestyle and realises she must change in some aspects too.

Although I may not be a fan of Victoria Wood in her primary guise, (as a comedienne), as an actress she has proved in this drama she is a first-rate actress and considering she wrote this drama, a decent writer too.

On the whole a nice heart-warming wartime family drama.

Very few scenes were ones reported in the diary but Wood's film conveyed its substance very well indeed. Beautifully handled, for example, was Nella's naive inability to recognise Cliff's homosexuality. But I thought her 'Nella' was too passive. You can see the film's nervy, pensive introvert in her intimate writing but her diaries also make it clear that she could be feisty and would have come across to others as able and assured. Nella herself contrasts 'the quiet, brooding woman who, when alone, draws the quiet around her like a healing cloak and the gay lively woman who 'keeps all going'''.

"Housewife, 49" is a remarkable film in how it captures a picture of life that commonly goes unseen. Victoria Wood, the star of the film, is quite good. She offers a performance that's very easy to get into, full of emotional complexity and human depth. I was quite impressed by David Threlfall, who plays Wood's husband here. He convincingly captures a certain generation and personality of man that you don't often see on film. Not abusive or offensive, but emotionally distance and overly self-controlled. Stephanie Cole is good, but she isn't given much to work with here. The script tends to wander a bit too much at times. The entire subplot revolving around people reading the letters seems tacked-on and ultimately unnecessary.

I'm glad I saw this. It offers up a close human insight. The TV movie format holds things down a bit, but the best is made of it. "Housewife, 49" is a good film.