The Party

The middle-class dinner party in which the thin veneer of polite society is ripped away to expose the dog-eat-dog savagery underneath has provided ample fodder for playwrights since probably the birth of theatre, but films in which such a gathering is the sole focus are rarer. So step forward British auteur Sally Potter.

Having been appointed Shadow Minister for Health, Janet (Kristen Scott Thomas) and her husband Bill (Timothy Spall) throw a celebratory dinner party for their friends: the acerbic April (Patricia Clarkson) and (played by Bruno Ganz) her new age partner Gottfried ("prick an aromatherapist and you'll find a fascist" says April); lesbian professor Martha and her 'Masterchef' runner-up partner Jinny (Emily Mortimer), who is carrying their purchased foetuses ("babies are born every day, in large numbers - large enough to put our planet at risk" is April's unsentimental but accurate comment). Banker Tom (Cillian Murphy) arrives with his wife's apologies: she will be along later. Thus the stage is set, but when a champagne cork shatters a window it is an omen that this will be a dinner party none of the attendees will soon forget.

Trendy lefties who spend too much time thinking are an open goal when it comes to comedy, with their talk of 'post-post-feminism' and their professorships in Utopian Americanism, and Potter does not miss the target in her - I suspect affectionate - mickey-taking. There is nothing original in this - not even the 'twist' at the end - but the film is so entertaining that does not matter (with one exception: when banker Tom heads to the bathroom to snort cocaine I rolled my eyes - just once I would like to see a fictional young banker who *does not* have a coke habit: don't any of them simply put the kettle on?)

There is good acting all around: Clarkson gets all the best lines - albeit at the expense of depth of character - but that merely makes the others work harder with the lines they have been given. Thomas, whose character is the most fully-formed, is noteworthy.

At just over seventy minutes this is rather a short film. Quite why Potter decided to make it in black-and-white I do not know - extra filmsnob points I suppose. But it is hugely entertaining and I look forward to seeing it again. (After all, any film which lists in the credits 'production dog' *must* be good!)

A 71-minute movie in black-and-white seems a rather poor return on the price of a cinema ticket these days. The Party is a theatrical comedy - it would have to be half of a double bill on stage or perhaps better suited to a TV play. It's like a middle-class upgrading of THE ROYLE FAMILY relocated to somewhere like Hampstead or Swiss Cottage.

MP Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) is hosting a drinks do to celebrate becoming a Shadow Minister (from sarcasm at Thatcher's expense we can safely infer that she is Labour). Her husband Bill (Timothy Spall) is weirded out after some bad news at the hospital. First guests to arrive are their best friend Patricia Clarkson (in uber-bitch overdrive) and partner Bruno Ganz, then a lesbian couple, then manic coke-snorting Cillian Murphy (at his dishiest), whose wife – though we never see her – provides all the drama. Infidelity (off-screen)is super-abundant and provides most of the humour.

They're (meant to be) a bunch of unlikeable phoneys, given some snappy dialogue by writer/director Sally Potter (who gave us ORLANDO in 1992 – now there was a weird movie). Unavoidable echoes of Mike Leigh's ABIGAIL'S PARTY (1977), which was much more more hysterical than Janet's celebration here. Slight and intermittently funny. Not very good value.

'The Party (2017)', which tells the tale of a dinner party awkwardly gone awry, plays out in real time and relies solely on the dynamics between its seven core characters, who deliver dialogue that mostly does that debatably grounding and realistic thing of actually being about quote unquote 'nothing' - swapping Tarantino's signature pop-culture-spewing style with one that focuses on the main socio-economic and political views of modern Britain (issues which have their place and need to be talked about but are here almost used as filler). While it is fairly entertaining for the majority of its very short runtime, once you look back on the overall narrative it feels somewhat empty (and, dare I say, unnecessary), especially when you know where it leaves off and how many of its seemingly insignificant plot strands are simply left dangling. It's a darkly satirical piece and there are a few nice moments which stand out from the otherwise forgettable proceedings. It's also technically very well conceived, genuinely feeling like an encounter one might have at an unfortunate New Year's Eve party. 6/10.

At first I did not like this little film but it grew on me. It's in black and white, sometimes harshly lit. The characters seem self-absorbed and not terribly interesting. And then Spall's character drops a bombshell that changes everything. There were quite a few laughs. Patricia Clarkson was especially good. Nice twist at the end. At just over an hour, it's a tight little diversion worth the small investment of time.

I only watched this because of Cillian Murphy, and wasn't expecting much. The trailers made it look okay, and I don't really think a lot of comedy movies are actually funny. Well, I was surprised! I was laughing the whole time, and wished it was longer. Cillian's acting is taken to a new level in this movie, beyond what I had seen from him in the past. He was definitely the best character. Even the political humor made me laugh. The plot was also very good and interesting. The characters each add different types of comedy to the movie, and the dialogue is well written. I am excited to watch this movie again!