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<blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 406427" data-attributes="member: 8">I was merely intrigued by the story itself, but somehow they made it look like fiction.THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993)[ATTACH=full]53972[/ATTACH]I have no idea how it compares to HOWARDS END (what? no apostrophe?) but I plan to find out.REMAINS has all the hallmarks of a beautiful Merchant Ivory production, and while I understand that &quot;frustration&quot; and the clash between duty and feelings are central to the story, I found the experience of watching the film a little bit frustrating. And for more than one reason.The role played by Anthony Hopkins is the epitome of tradition and mild-mannerism, and it goes without saying that he plays it wonderfully.But with emotions suppressed to the extreme there&#039;s no opportunity to create a character that can be loved or hated or admired or appreciated - or any feeling that would qualify when watching films - and I don&#039;t know if the end was supposed to be a comeuppance or something else....or nothing at all.Not that I expected big melodrama in style of Downton Abbey, but when it comes to the poignancy of missed opportunities I think 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD was much more loveable and effective. Even if the reasons for that missed opportunity were quite ordinary compared to REMAINS.Secondly, there&#039;s a very juicy and ominous story playing in the background, starring James Fox, no less.With the supposedly&nbsp; well-meaning Nazis as the proverbial fox in the henhouse, and James Fox&#039; gullible reaction to that, there&#039;s a weirdly strange connection between Lord Darlington and James Fox&#039; Tony in THE SERVANT.I&#039;ve seen many stories about WWII but it&#039;s never looked so sneaky and menacing and Hitchcockian as it does in REMAINS.So, yeah, more of that and less of the anxious Darlington servants would have been very nice.Oh...oh, and thirdly, we never get to see the wife of the new owner played by Christopher Reeve. What if she&#039;s a fabulous bitch who would make a TV series sequel necessary? Talk about missed opportunities.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Willie Oleson, post: 406427, member: 8"] I was merely intrigued by the story itself, but somehow they made it look like fiction. THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993) [ATTACH type="full"]53972[/ATTACH] I have no idea how it compares to HOWARDS END (what? no apostrophe?) but I plan to find out. REMAINS has all the hallmarks of a beautiful Merchant Ivory production, and while I understand that "frustration" and the clash between duty and feelings are central to the story, I found the experience of watching the film a little bit frustrating. And for more than one reason. The role played by Anthony Hopkins is the epitome of tradition and mild-mannerism, and it goes without saying that he plays it wonderfully. But with emotions suppressed to the extreme there's no opportunity to create a character that can be loved or hated or admired or appreciated - or any feeling that would qualify when watching films - and I don't know if the end was supposed to be a comeuppance or something else....or nothing at all. Not that I expected big melodrama in style of Downton Abbey, but when it comes to the poignancy of missed opportunities I think 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD was much more loveable and effective. Even if the reasons for that missed opportunity were quite ordinary compared to REMAINS. Secondly, there's a very juicy and ominous story playing in the background, starring James Fox, no less. With the [I]supposedly[/I] well-meaning Nazis as the proverbial fox in the henhouse, and James Fox' gullible reaction to that, there's a weirdly strange connection between Lord Darlington and James Fox' Tony in THE SERVANT. I've seen many stories about WWII but it's never looked so sneaky and menacing and Hitchcockian as it does in REMAINS. So, yeah, more of that and less of the anxious Darlington servants would have been very nice. Oh...oh, and [I]thirdly,[/I] we never get to see the wife of the new owner played by Christopher Reeve. What if she's a fabulous bitch who would make a TV series sequel necessary? Talk about missed opportunities. [/QUOTE]

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