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When choosing what film to watch from my DVD rental subscription, I came across ABIGAIL'S PARTY. To be honest, I wasn't very interested, I thought it looked boring and quite frankly didn't care less about what happened at Abigail's bash! But, my partner went ahead and ordered it, thinking it was good to try out some of the old 'classics'. I decided at first not to watch...
WHAT A MISTAKE!
...I ended up sitting down to it (I think the other option was the washing up) and I was utterly swept away with this film.
Director, Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy) has a little gem in his collection here. The film was devised by himself and the cast through a series of improvisational workshops, in true Leigh style. It was commissioned for a television series from the 70s called 'Play for Today'. ABIGAIL'S PARTY was the first of his films I had seen, but it certainly won't be my last. This approach to film making creates a rare sense of realism, with little quirks and isms from the cast, that I'm not sure would have necessarily come out of working with a script first.
In the film, we see a gathering of people, who wouldn't normally socialise with each other, with lots of alcohol thrown in and certains degrees of shame from all (!) Beverly played by Alison Steadman (Fat Friends) received huge acclaim from this role, and Laurence played by Tim Stern, host the impromptu party whilst their daughter Abigail (whom we never meet) is away at her party down the road. We meet their neighbours and guests Angela, wonderfully played by Janine Duvitski (One Foot in the Grave) and Tony played by John Salthouse (The Bill), then we finally meet Susan played by Harriet Reynolds. Such a small cast! I was very impressed by the SUPERB acting from everyone and interestingly. My favourite actor by far was Janine Duvitski who was hilarious - it's worth seeing this film to watch her 'slow dance' if nothing else...GENIUS!!
This film has many laugh out loud moments, as well as many cringe-worthly funny moments - as well as those awkward is-it-appropriate-for-me-to-laugh-here moments! I just wish the film had lasted longer, it only went on for just over an hour (102 mins).
This a black comedy in it's truest form...I'm not going to tell you what happens in the end, but let's just say I was surprised! If you like all things 70's, then this is for you. The film looks like something straight out of a 70s TV sitcom (I don't mean that as a negative), ooo check out the orange leather sofa - mmm nice! I would recommend it to anyone who likes comedic drama. It is definately a no-thrills production (the entire film is set in Beverley's front room), so if you only like action films with top-notch special effects, you'll not like this. If you have a interest for all things 70's and British, give it a go!
Thanks for reading :)
© MarcoG 2008
(also on other op sites)
WHAT A MISTAKE!
...I ended up sitting down to it (I think the other option was the washing up) and I was utterly swept away with this film.
Director, Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy) has a little gem in his collection here. The film was devised by himself and the cast through a series of improvisational workshops, in true Leigh style. It was commissioned for a television series from the 70s called 'Play for Today'. ABIGAIL'S PARTY was the first of his films I had seen, but it certainly won't be my last. This approach to film making creates a rare sense of realism, with little quirks and isms from the cast, that I'm not sure would have necessarily come out of working with a script first.
In the film, we see a gathering of people, who wouldn't normally socialise with each other, with lots of alcohol thrown in and certains degrees of shame from all (!) Beverly played by Alison Steadman (Fat Friends) received huge acclaim from this role, and Laurence played by Tim Stern, host the impromptu party whilst their daughter Abigail (whom we never meet) is away at her party down the road. We meet their neighbours and guests Angela, wonderfully played by Janine Duvitski (One Foot in the Grave) and Tony played by John Salthouse (The Bill), then we finally meet Susan played by Harriet Reynolds. Such a small cast! I was very impressed by the SUPERB acting from everyone and interestingly. My favourite actor by far was Janine Duvitski who was hilarious - it's worth seeing this film to watch her 'slow dance' if nothing else...GENIUS!!
This film has many laugh out loud moments, as well as many cringe-worthly funny moments - as well as those awkward is-it-appropriate-for-me-to-laugh-here moments! I just wish the film had lasted longer, it only went on for just over an hour (102 mins).
This a black comedy in it's truest form...I'm not going to tell you what happens in the end, but let's just say I was surprised! If you like all things 70's, then this is for you. The film looks like something straight out of a 70s TV sitcom (I don't mean that as a negative), ooo check out the orange leather sofa - mmm nice! I would recommend it to anyone who likes comedic drama. It is definately a no-thrills production (the entire film is set in Beverley's front room), so if you only like action films with top-notch special effects, you'll not like this. If you have a interest for all things 70's and British, give it a go!
Thanks for reading :)
© MarcoG 2008
(also on other op sites)
Yeah definately. That bit with the dancing still makes me laugh just thinking about it :)
Had to watch this back in the late 80's as part of my English class at school. It was lost on me at the time, but watching it later gave me a better appreciation of the play on class and gender roles.
It's not exactly one of my favourite films, but even though it looks dated, the messages are still relevant today and make for some funny moments (as you say, some being very cringe-worthy).
It's not exactly one of my favourite films, but even though it looks dated, the messages are still relevant today and make for some funny moments (as you say, some being very cringe-worthy).
When choosing what film to watch from my DVD rental subscription, I came across ABIGAIL'S PARTY. To be honest, I wasn't very interested, I thought it looked boring and quite frankly didn't care less about what happened at Abigail's bash! But, my partner went ahead and ordered it, thinking it was good to try out some of the old 'classics'. I decided at first not to watch...
WHAT A MISTAKE!
...I ended up sitting down to it (I think the other option was the washing up) and I was utterly swept away with this film.
Director, Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy) has a little gem in his collection here. The film was devised by himself and the cast through a series of improvisational workshops, in true Leigh style. It was commissioned for a television series from the 70s called 'Play for Today'. ABIGAIL'S PARTY was the first of his films I had seen, but it certainly won't be my last. This approach to film making creates a rare sense of realism, with little quirks and isms from the cast, that I'm not sure would have necessarily come out of working with a script first.
In the film, we see a gathering of people, who wouldn't normally socialise with each other, with lots of alcohol thrown in and certains degrees of shame from all (!) Beverly played by Alison Steadman (Fat Friends) received huge acclaim from this role, and Laurence played by Tim Stern, host the impromptu party whilst their daughter Abigail (whom we never meet) is away at her party down the road. We meet their neighbours and guests Angela, wonderfully played by Janine Duvitski (One Foot in the Grave) and Tony played by John Salthouse (The Bill), then we finally meet Susan played by Harriet Reynolds. Such a small cast! I was very impressed by the SUPERB acting from everyone and interestingly. My favourite actor by far was Janine Duvitski who was hilarious - it's worth seeing this film to watch her 'slow dance' if nothing else...GENIUS!!
This film has many laugh out loud moments, as well as many cringe-worthly funny moments - as well as those awkward is-it-appropriate-for-me-to-laugh-here moments! I just wish the film had lasted longer, it only went on for just over an hour (102 mins).
This a black comedy in it's truest form...I'm not going to tell you what happens in the end, but let's just say I was surprised! If you like all things 70's, then this is for you. The film looks like something straight out of a 70s TV sitcom (I don't mean that as a negative), ooo check out the orange leather sofa - mmm nice! I would recommend it to anyone who likes comedic drama. It is definately a no-thrills production (the entire film is set in Beverley's front room), so if you only like action films with top-notch special effects, you'll not like this. If you have a interest for all things 70's and British, give it a go!
Thanks for reading :)
© MarcoG 2008
(also on other op sites)
WHAT A MISTAKE!
...I ended up sitting down to it (I think the other option was the washing up) and I was utterly swept away with this film.
Director, Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy) has a little gem in his collection here. The film was devised by himself and the cast through a series of improvisational workshops, in true Leigh style. It was commissioned for a television series from the 70s called 'Play for Today'. ABIGAIL'S PARTY was the first of his films I had seen, but it certainly won't be my last. This approach to film making creates a rare sense of realism, with little quirks and isms from the cast, that I'm not sure would have necessarily come out of working with a script first.
In the film, we see a gathering of people, who wouldn't normally socialise with each other, with lots of alcohol thrown in and certains degrees of shame from all (!) Beverly played by Alison Steadman (Fat Friends) received huge acclaim from this role, and Laurence played by Tim Stern, host the impromptu party whilst their daughter Abigail (whom we never meet) is away at her party down the road. We meet their neighbours and guests Angela, wonderfully played by Janine Duvitski (One Foot in the Grave) and Tony played by John Salthouse (The Bill), then we finally meet Susan played by Harriet Reynolds. Such a small cast! I was very impressed by the SUPERB acting from everyone and interestingly. My favourite actor by far was Janine Duvitski who was hilarious - it's worth seeing this film to watch her 'slow dance' if nothing else...GENIUS!!
This film has many laugh out loud moments, as well as many cringe-worthly funny moments - as well as those awkward is-it-appropriate-for-me-to-laugh-here moments! I just wish the film had lasted longer, it only went on for just over an hour (102 mins).
This a black comedy in it's truest form...I'm not going to tell you what happens in the end, but let's just say I was surprised! If you like all things 70's, then this is for you. The film looks like something straight out of a 70s TV sitcom (I don't mean that as a negative), ooo check out the orange leather sofa - mmm nice! I would recommend it to anyone who likes comedic drama. It is definately a no-thrills production (the entire film is set in Beverley's front room), so if you only like action films with top-notch special effects, you'll not like this. If you have a interest for all things 70's and British, give it a go!
Thanks for reading :)
© MarcoG 2008
(also on other op sites)