Private Road

Up-and-coming short story writer Peter (Bruce Robinson) meets pretty young secretary Ann (Susan Penhaligon) at the publishing house. Shunning her rather old-fashioned parents, Ann begins an intense love affair with Peter and the two seem to spend all their time together. Peter's laid back lifestyle and bohemian friends seems to appeal to Ann, who has been raised in mainly middle-class surroundings. The two head off to the country where they seem to grow bored of each other, and Ann gets pregnant. Peter doesn't really care about the novel he's been told to write but is forced to get a steady job to support the unborn child.

If my description doesn't exactly grip you with it's exciting synopsis, I don't blame you. Private Road is really as laid back as its young characters. It's the kind of film which will disappoint if you're expecting a straight-forward beginning, middle and end - but, if you allow what plays out just to wash over you, then it's profoundly moving, sweet, and funny. I don't usually take to bohemian types, but Bruce Robinson's (writer of Withnail & I and The Killing Fields) natural charm, and the lack of self-awareness that plagues the Facebook generation warmed me to the characters.

One film that Private Road really brought to mind was Harold And Maude. Although it's not as blatantly comic or quite as dark, the film does have a subtle comic undertone that plays out throughout, usually in the conversations between Peter and his friend Stephen (played by the brilliant Michael Feast). It almost has a feel of Withnail & I (without being quite as clever). It also has a serious note when Stephen becomes a heroin addict, played with an amazing realism by Feast. The naturalistic wordplay and the nice soundtrack add up to make this the only BFI Flipside release that I've really enjoyed. Recommended!

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London lovers engage adulthood when they decide to share space, he (Robinson) an aspiring but "undisciplined" writer of esoteria, she (Penhaligon) a listless office girl showing flair for the physical arts. The motifs and year of release announce the style (realism), yet, Platts-Mills (d / s-p) tells viewers precious little about where we came from to get where we start (vagaries). Clarity comes as the principals get down to business, i.e., sex, finances, getaways, 3rd party plots and the unexpected. Ann and Peter are gentry, quite attractive and spoiled rotten, he commited to love but has an immaturity (rude to parents, agent) that can't possibly support his supposed talent (See also; Almost Famous), while blondie, simple at first, after coupling turns impish, then practical, prodding Peter's penmanship, giving great hugs, eating with élan (Barker-Mill) (camera) and making a decision on personal autonomy that even today's film makers haven't the wherewithal to storyboard. The leads will endear but it's the support who give it time to happen. Robert Brown (Bond) and Kathleen Byron, nearly unrecognizable from her sinister Sister Ruth (Black Narcissus), are Ann's dedicated parents (no mention of Peter's), Patricia Cutts is the patient literary agent, Hammond Keogh & Sessions are the advertising employers, better than the kid deserves, and Feast & Fenton the friends in trouble, one on drugs, the other politics. It's Feast & Morrissey who, late in the film, play its best scene, Steven's expression when Henry's comely but cold girlfriend (Howe) turns topic, is priceless, while sharing insights that Peter needs to hear (nix the nuptials). The score is embryotic (everyone was The Beatles) but grows on you, and when it's all over (89m), you'll wish there was more. Should be a cult (3/4).

Deliciously handsome, Bruce Robinson, plays affable, dilettantish author, Peter, who quite understandably falls for the adorably timid, emotionally frail pixie, Ann (Susan Penhaligon), and their sweetly tumultuous relationship, fraught with obtuse parental meddling, financial woes, erotic exultation, and naïveté makes for compelling cinema, this uniquely photogenic pair are one of the more charming screen lovers! Private Road is a delicate, witty, playful, earnestly romantic film; a memorable, smartly written love story told without sentimentality, replete with engaging, naturalistic performances, pithy dialogue and a refreshingly light directorial touch. It is both a rare and hugely satisfying experience to watch such a humane, emotionally intelligent film dealing so sensitively with the exquisite travails borne of nascent love as the eminently lovable Private Road.

The enervating conflicts between, Ann's reserved, controlling, conservatively middle-class family, along with boyfriend, Peter's profound anxiety over his best friend, Stephen's (Michael Feast) disturbing drug addiction, and his own mounting frustrations regarding the crass, innate emptiness of copywriting, plus his pronounced lack of ambition has lost none of its tender pathos. Gifted filmmaker, Barney Platts-Mills nuanced follow-up to cult classic Bronco Bullfrog (1969) vividly remains no less enthralling seen today than upon its initial theatrical release in 1971. Wholly deserving of its status of forgotten mini-masterpiece, if the colour palate were, perhaps, a little cooler, originating from navel-gazing Scandinavia, 'Private Road' may well have been unearthed a little sooner! The meticulous BFI restoration is sublime, images are sharp, colours are warmly appealing, soundtrack is perfectly crisp, and the two exciting bonus shorts are most welcome additions!

I saw this film in Notting Hill Gate, London, when it first came out in 1971; I was 22 at the time, and probably stoned. Its advertising slogan was 'we saw the stars in Private Road' which somehow caught my attention. It was one of those films that seemed to speak to me personally (Zachariah was another) and had a profound effect on my life, particularly in sending me to Scotland, which set in place a whole fascinating sequence of transformational events in my own personal life and spiritual development. I remember little of the story, although I always fancied Susan Penhaligon; but the filming of the Scottish scenes somehow stirred in me a longing for that clear, wholesome fresh air and natural beauty which has been an inspiration for me all my life. If I could get hold of a copy, I would love to see it again.

I am watching (!)'WITHNAIL & I' on TV , and was reminded that Bruce Robinson was in 'PRIVATE ROAD', a film I saw on TV (undoubtedly BBC 2) over 30+ years ago, and thought it was truly wonderful, but I have never seen it or anything about it since........ Given the cult status (Definition "Small viewing figures" -Alan Partridge)and wide availability of 'WITHNAIL', what has happened to PRIVATE ROAD......??? At the time I was 16, and identified with the 'Quiet is the new loud/Reject the Rat Race/Back to nature' theme. I remember it as an excellent film, but,sadly, I have been unable to see it again.With endless copies of junk films freely available ,is it not possible that a film of this rarity can see the light of day ? bfi where are you when we need you most?