Wetherby (1985)

The mysterious death of an enigmatic young man newly arrived in the suburb of Wetherby releases the long-repressed, dark passions of some of its residents.

Director:

David Hare

Writer:

David Hare

Stars:

Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Holm, Judi Dench

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Jean Travers
Ian Holm	...	Stanley Pilborough
Judi Dench	...	Marcia Pilborough
Marjorie Yates	...	Verity Braithwaite
Tom Wilkinson	...	Roger Braithwaite
Penny Downie	...	Chrissie
Brenda Hall	...	Landlady
Marjorie Sudell	...	Lilly
Patrick Blackwell	...	Derek - Chrissie's Husband
Joely Richardson	...	Young Jean Travers
Robert Hines	...	Jim Mortimer
Katy Behean	...	Young Marcia
Bert King	...	Mr. Mortimer
Paula Tilbrook	...	Mrs. Mortimer
Christopher Fulford	...	Arthur

Storyline

The mysterious death of an enigmatic young man newly arrived in the suburb of Wetherby releases the long-repressed, dark passions of some of its residents.

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Plot Keywords:

death | shakespearean quotation | politics | water leak in the ceiling | sexism | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Home Vision Entertainment (DVD Distributor)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 July 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il mistero di Wetherby

Filming Locations:

Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Four International, Greenpoint Films, Zenith Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rumor has it that David Hare created the role of Jean Travers, played by Vanessa Redgrave, in order to examine Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a product of British history.

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Quotes

Stanley Pilborough: If you're frightened of loneliness, never get married.

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Connections

Referenced in A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1997)

User Reviews

Intriguing use of time

An intriguing film which plays with time in an interesting way - it is based around the bizarre suicide of a young man, and scenes are shown in no particular order, some from before the suicide and some from after. Often it's hard to tell when chronologically a scene occurs. I like this kind of narrative structure (cf. Pulp Fiction).

Towards the end of the film further scenes are interspersed from an apparently independent storyline about American soldiers during the war. When I saw the film (quite a few years ago) I couldn't work out how this related to the rest of the film at all. But it all seemed to make some kind of sense anyway.

Definitely worth a look.