The Remains of the Day

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source: The Remains of the Day

As I turned the lights up in our TV room, my wife and I looked at each other and both said, "What was THAT??" In this case "that" was "The Remains of the Day," a story about a butler who has the range of emotions of Chance the Gardener in "Being There," and the personality of drying paint. Playing this role was a tough assignment, but give credit to Anthony Hopkins for pulling it off. Without his performance, this movie would be a complete stinker. With it, the movie is watchable, but still unsatisfying. The main problem is that the movie doesn't go anywhere. You know, the old "writing 101" business about beginning, middle, and end, and the concept that there ought to be a climax or resolution or something that pulls things together as you get to the final scenes. Instead, at the end you just scratch your head and wonder why you just spent 2+ hours watching this thing. If someone recommends this movie to you because your wife likes "Downton Abbey" (which is how we came to rent it), do yourself a favor and instead rent the very similar, and infinitely better film, "The Grand Budapest Hotel." It too has a "majordomo" at its center (a concierge at a hotel instead of a butler in a private residence), but the characters in that film are infinitely more interesting and compelling. That film is also told in flashbacks, but to much better effect. But the key difference is that the resolutions at the end are satisfying in all respects. What makes it so much better? One word: writing. It is simply much, much better-written. So, "The Remains of the Day" is way over-rated (nominated for a "best picture" Oscar which it most definitely did not deserve) and, except for Hopkins' performance, deserves no other accolades.

The movie starts in 1950s England. Darlington Hall is being sold after Lord Darlington (James Fox) died in disgrace as a Nazi sympathizer. American Trent Lewis (Christopher Reeve) is the new owner and he keeps Mr. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) as the butler. The movie flashes back to the 1936 when Darlington invites an international group including Lewis who was a Congressman at the time to discuss helping Germany. His godson Reginald Cardinal(Hugh Grant) tries to caution him. Lewis is the only one who opposes. Stevens holds his views very private. Miss Sally Kenton (Emma Thompson) is the new head housekeeper. Stevens gets his elderly father work with Darlington despite his failing mental and physical health. Over the years, Darlington continues to help the Germans. At the start, I would have preferred the movie to be more explicit. It would be great to spend a little time showing how low Darlington had fallen. Also I would like to have the date shown. They're very little things that eases the audience into the movie. The other minor problem is that I didn't root for Stevens and Miss Kenton. I kept hoping she forget him and quickly. However there is no telling about love. The acting is impeccable. There are a few sections that could be cut short to quicken the pace. It's a great movie but just a bit of a downer.

A former U.S. Congressman--now a multimillionaire (!)--purchases an English estate in the 1950s which was due to be demolished after the previous Lord of the manor passed on; in retaining the butler of the house, the new owner is persuaded to rehire the former housekeeper, who shares a complex history with the butler dating back to WWII. It's difficult to watch a James Ivory film and not feel contempt for the agonizing pace he sets and for his hoked-up sentimentality (as if human repression really needed to be romanticized). The facetious comparisons between Americans and the British (and the British attitude towards the Germans) are due to screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's faithfully embalmed adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's book, though leads Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson (he of the stiff-upper-lip school, she a chatterbox) do manage to carve out characters from stock. Ornate production reveals a scene or two of true, honest feeling, while the finale is amusingly sparse. **1/2 from ****

Impeccably cast and produced in typical Merchant-Ivory manner, this understated drama features superb performances by two of the finest actors in modern cinema, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Both an acid indictment of the British class system and an unflinching portrayal of a man who in the end cannot transcend his largely self-imposed limitations, the film is both fascinating and agonizing to watch and its cumulative emotional impact will stay with you long after it's over. There is an exquisite moment near the finale when Thompson's character bares only slightly a hint of the feelings she has for Hopkins, an allusion to what might have been between them. And Hopkins, in his consummate skill, maintains in both facial and vocal expressions the most non-committal of replies; his face a mask of bland affability but his eyes dark with the knowledge that he is a dead man who has wasted his life. With no outward show of emotion, the scene is devastating. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY may not be a happy film, but it is a memorable and powerful one.

I can only repeat what most previous commentators have said. This is a beautiful film in every way. Anthony Hopkins performance is awe-inspiring and difficult to describe. Stevens the butler never shows any emotion so his face is always suitably deadpan. The dialogue is spare. Then just how is it that we are able to follow the emotional undercurrents? Emma Thompson is also brilliant as the energetic housekeeper who does display and express her feelings without ever stating them directly. But all the actors are excellent, even in the most minor parts. Hugh Grant has a small part and plays it perfectly. Sadly his talent is too often misused and misapplied. James Fox was a revelation as prior to this I had only seen him in very light roles. Here he played an essentially decent man who is not too bright but has been born into wealth and influence. His sentiments and suggestibility lead him to misguided positions and tragedy. Among the many great scenes there is a hilarious laugh-out-loud sequence with Hopkins and Grant. I have seen "A Room With a View", another effort from the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabwala team. It is adapted from a lovely book but I disliked the film. I thought it failed to set the mood and put across the emotions. But in "The Remains of the Day" everything works. It is sad, actually heart-rending, but not gloomy. The period details are wonderfully executed and you are impressed by the order and efficiency in the running of the stately home. Everything in the film looks good- clean, bright and sharp. You are swept in at the beginning and stay rapt till the end. And the magic does not decrease with repeated viewing. I have seen it a number of times, it remains absorbing and fresh.

Somewhat frustrating, oh-so-literate character piece that takes the self-repression of the servant class to its nth degree. The social negotiations, and battle of wills are the more interesting parts of this movie. But its central storyline of Hopkins stunted emotional life is so hopelessly obvious that one waits in vain for a complication of any sort. Nothing more has been said when the credits roll, than when we first observed his characters issue. I don't need a happy ending or momentous developments, but please leave me an inch or two ahead of where the story began. 'Being There' covers a similarly stunted character much more thoughtfully. Uncomfortably, the image of a preternaturally calm Hopkins standing inches from an occasionally irksome Emma Thompson, makes viewers anxious about Lector-like face chomping. Christopher Reeve who never did much with any role, again does very little with his role. The cinematography is the standard "tastefulness equals art" Merchant Ivory deal.

Anthony Hopkins as Mr. Stevens in The Remains of the Day made for truly excellent drama. His portrayal of the dedicated butler was picture perfect. He conveyed all the controlled subtleties of his character with great conviction. Stevens' dedication to his profession above all other considerations was both admirable and sad. All his interactions felt genuine and his personal journey was set wonderfully against the historical setting of World War II era Europe. Even the Nazi angle was considered with a more even hand than it is usually treated with. The practical considerations of the politicians of the time added a great sense of realism. The high profile supporting cast was also in top form though make no mistake this is Hopkins' film. Strongly recommended, 9/10.