Plenty (1985)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writers:

David Hare (play)
David Hare (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

She would settle for nothing less...

Plot:

A young Englishwoman spends 20 years to make whatever kind of life for herself at the expense of others around her in post-World War 2 England.

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Spy | WWII | Based On Play | Independent Film

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Susan Traherne
Charles Dance	...	Raymond Brock
Tracey Ullman	...	Alice Park
John Gielgud	...	Sir Leonard Darwin
Sting	...	Mick
Ian McKellen	...	Sir Andrew Charleson
Sam Neill	...	Lazar
Burt Kwouk	...	Mr. Aung
André Maranne	...	Villon
Pik Sen Lim	...	Madame Aung
Ian Wallace	...	Medlicoti
Tristram Jellinek	...	Dawncey
Peter Forbes-Robertson	...	Brussells Hotel Manager
Hugo De Vernier	...	Doctor
James Taylor	...	Tony (dead man)

Runtime:

121 min | UK:124 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium

Company:

Pressman Productions

Trivia:

Final feature film of Lyndon Brook.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Queen Elizabeth II's coronation was in 1953, yet the flag display includes the flag of Guyana, which wasn't designed until 1962 or officially adopted until 1966.

Quotes:

Susan Traherne: You don't understand the figures in my mind!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

A Delicate Inbalace

This is a film where you can get lost, wonderfully lost. Following Susan, the character created on the page by David Hare and on the screen by Meryl Streep, is a journey of gloriously unexpected ups and downs. It may be because the amazing Meryl Streep goes trough the analytic intellect of David Hare with her heart on her sleeve and I felt shattered and moved by the access she provided me into the heart and soul of her own personal labyrinth. To look back with regret and feel that memories of fleeting moments of extraordinary beauty can keep you going and see you through whatever hell fate seems determined to throw your way. Meryl Streep never looked this beautiful and the transparency of her missteps are a magic sweep of the most enthralling kind. Irrationaly sane. Like most of the great bipolar. They know, they've seen through. There is nothing ahead only behind and now it's too bloody late. The stages of Susan's journey, to the after war lands of plenty are framed by her own geniality - the character's and the actress's - Susan is overwhelmed by her own awareness, lonelier and lonelier, Meryl overwhelm us with her own sublime generosity. Fred Schepsi, the extraordinary man at the helm, keeps the puzzle open and clear. Like most works of art, not everyone will be ready to open up to this experience. Pretty frustrating let me tell you. I would love to share this experience with everyone.