Film Reviews by SM

I loved all the 50s period detail in this with men going to work wearing bowler hats. (I can remember in the 60s some men were still wearing bowler hats as they travelled by train up to London). Bill Nighy gives a great peformance but at times I struggled to hear what he was saying and I wished I had put the subtitles on. It is a sweet story but I did find it slow going at times. A minor quibble: in the blub the central character is described as a civil servant but he works for the now defunct London County Council. Ttherefore he is a local government officer, not a civil servant.

The first half of the film I did find slow but I became more and more involved with the characters. Bill Nighy gives one of his best performances without his usual mannerisms. The plot develops more in the second half and it was enjoyable to watch a film about characters rather than car chases.

Not for everyone but for those who enjoy a traditional story-telling, it is a find.