An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

The PD James book An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was turned into an ITV series in the late 1990s.

Before then it had been a low budget feature film.

Cordelia Gray (Pippa Guard) takes over the detective agency she was working for after her boss kills himself.

Her first job is to find out the circumstances of why a young man Mark Calendar hanged himself.

Mark was the son of a wealthy constructor James Calendar (Paul Freeman.) Elizabeth Leaming (Billie Whitelaw) is the stern housekeeper who approaches the detective agency.

Cordelia becomes obsessed with Mark. He was estranged from his father. Cordelia discovers that Mark had been wearing women's clothes when he killed himself. Someone changed his clothes and cleaned the makeup off his face afterwards.

She later doubts if Mark actually did commit suicide.

This is an unsatisfactory movie for the viewer. An arty murder mystery.

It is shot like a film noir. Director Christopher Petit wanted this to be like a ghost story that unearths hidden family secrets. He did not succeed. The characters are so thinly sketched, actors such as Freeman and Whitelaw are left struggling.

Pippa Guard is underwhelming as Cordelia Gray. The scene when she nearly hangs herself is risible. Even the ending is underpowered.

The director did a good job of creating the atmosphere. Houses are characters as well as humans. The main actress does a good job. She was older in real life, but she conveys a much younger sensibility. This is a movie for people who appreciate moviemaking.

The real mystery is why this film was ever made. Goldcrest financed this and came a cropper. The film is so slow and leaden paced it is difficult to maintain any interest in what is going on. For this a large portion of the blame must attach to the director.