Blithe Spirit

Not a patch on the 1945 version I'm afraid. Even the wonderful Judi Dench can't match Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati and sadly Dan Stevens is nowhere near as sauve as Rex Harrison. Elvira seems quite horrible as opposed to mischievous. A case of style over substance.

Blithe Sprit

So many reviews on here fail to just get it, this play/farce was written by Noel Coward, in 1941 as an antidote to WW2 and presented on the West End stage. Noel Coward very much in the style of Oscar Wilde writes light whimsical repartee between the characters and it really is a celebration of language.

This movie, set in the 1937, just does not tick the boxes that light up modern audiences. This is a most unfair way to judge it, the plot was well executed, the acting crisp, with a light touch delivery was really quite splendid.

It your looking for a car chase, criminal masterminds and superheroes in spandex look elsewhere.

I'm giving this a jolly well done 7

The only levels on which this adaptation succeeds is that it opens the play up so it feels less theatrical. However the new script on retains only a scattering of the Noel Coward dialogue and the new stuff makes all the characters unlikable and tedious. They've even made Madame Arcati's character far less quirky and quite bland. Can't image who the makers think this will appeal to. Traditional Coward fans will hate it and it has nothing to recommend it to anyone else.

I didn't laugh even once. It wasn't even a dark comedy. There simply weren't any jokes in it. Like, none. The production value is top notch and the acting is pretty good but that's about all there is to it. The story is quite boring actually. Nothing original. Judy Dench is great of course.

If you liked the stage play then I would imagine you would have a few issues with this film, however if you are not aware of the play or the 1945 film based upon the play then you will probably like this version. I never really liked the original film so not that emotional about comparing the two but many prefer the first attempt.

Does this capture Noel Cowards wit, not really but that maybe no bad thing.

Enjoy it for what it is, a simple story with a lacklustre ending to while away some time.