The Revengers' Comedies (1998)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Malcolm Mowbray

Writers:

Alan Ayckbourn (play)
Malcolm Mowbray (writer)

Release Date:

19 June 1998 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Getting Even... Just Got Even Funnier!

Plot:

Depressed businessman Henry Bell and aristocrat Karen Knightly save each other's lives one night when they are ready to jump off London's Tower Bridge...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | London | Country House | Arson | Disguise

Cast

Sam Neill	...	Henry Bell
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Karen Knightly
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Imogen Staxton-Billing
Rupert Graves	...	Oliver Knightly
Martin Clunes	...	Anthony Staxton-Billing
Steve Coogan	...	Bruce Tick
John Wood	...	Col. Marcus
Liz Smith	...	Winnie
Anita Dobson	...	Daphne Teal
Charlotte Coleman	...	Norma
Adrian Scarborough	...	Percy Cutting
Sandra Reinton	...	Hilary Tick
Zoe Hilson	...	Lydia
Jamie O'Brien	...	Damien Tick
François Domange	...	Wine Waiter

Also Known As:

Amour, vengeance et trahison (France)
Sweet Revenge (USA) (cable TV title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language, sex-related material, and violence.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:LH | France:U | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Tower Bridge, London, England, UK

Company:

Artisan Films

Trivia:

This movie counts the second time Helena Bonham Carter and Rupert Graves have played sister and brother. They previously portrayed siblings 'Lucy and Freddy Honeychurch' in 'A Room with a View'(1986).

Movie Connections:

References Strangers on a Train (1951)

Soundtrack:

Relax

Jolly but abbreviated

Alan Ackybourn has written some brilliantly black and farcical plays, but in Macolm Mowbray's hands, his 'Revenger's Comedies' come across merely as a jolly romp of little social relevance. The script sparkles in places, and Martin Clunes is very funny in his role, but as a whole, the piece never comes to life: perhaps it needs the intensity of theatrical staging, where the escalating sequence of events can be unfolded in greater mutual proximity than in a film. But there's also a sense I had in watching this that the script had been cut down; I don't know if this is true, but if so, it could explain why the script had an emasculated feeling, as if the dialogues between the characters had been reduced to outline form only. In general, I'm a big fan of this writer; but if you want to explore his work, you might be better starting somewhere else.