Interview Day (1996)

Comedy drama about the trials and tribulations of three sets of parents as they finally realise that their children have grown up and reluctantly they have to let them enroll at Cambridge ... See full summary »

Director:

Piers Haggard

Writer:

Jack Rosenthal

Stars:

Maureen Lipman, David Ross, Benedict Sandiford

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maureen Lipman	...	Shani Whittle
David Ross	...	Bevis
Benedict Sandiford	...	Neil
Tom Wilkinson	...	Hugh
Anna Carteret	...	Harriet
Laura Howard	...	Pippa
Alec Guinness	...	James
James Fleet	...	Simon
Kathryn Pogson	...	Malcolm's mum
Grant Warnock	...	Malcolm
Laurie Ventry	...	Rosemary's dad
Kathy Kiera Clarke	...	Rosemary
Susannah Wise	...	Miss Wilding
Lila Kaye	...	Mother Polly
Pippa Hinchley	...	Bobbie the waitress

Storyline

Comedy drama about the trials and tribulations of three sets of parents as they finally realise that their children have grown up and reluctantly they have to let them enroll at Cambridge University.

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Plot Keywords:

university | parenthood | school | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Interview Day

Filming Locations:

Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greenpoint Films, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Alec Guinness's final acting role before his death on August 2, 2000 at the age of 86.

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Quotes

[talking about how she feels now that Neil has gone to university]
Shani Whittle: [tearfully] It's Eskimos, isn't it, that when they get old and no use to no-one no more, they just quietly sling their hooks and toddle off into the snow - for good. And their kids don't much bother because they're all too busy catching fish in holes and hoovering their igloos, and life goes on. Well, *theirs* does. Not the poor old useless bugger lying in the snow.

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Connections

Followed by Cold Enough for Snow (1997)

User Reviews

Humor, irony, and depth

Seemingly unprepossessing as it opens, _Interview Day_ (it was aired under this title by WGBH) gains humor, irony, and depth as it follows the anxious introduction of three young applicants to Cambridge University and the visit to a nursing home of one of the interviewing faculty along with his reluctant father (a retired don). It explores the limits of reach of the family, even the most loving family, as an adolescent or elderly parent moves beyond its power to protect.

As each family approaches this reality the caregivers attempt, sometimes comically, sometimes painfully, always awkwardly, to navigate the transition along with their loved one. Ultimately they realize that they cannot. But this misses the humane, hopeful attitude brought to the film by all involved. People (most people at least) are open to learning from change and to finding the best in it.

A moment of pure magic occurs when Neil's ditzy, superstitious mother experiences an epiphany of loss as she watches her son head in for his interview, and he (not knowing quite why) turns to wave goodbye. Something has moved, all have felt it, but Shani (the intuitive of the group) is the one who understands what it means. It is an intimation of mystery, of workings beyond anyone's ken, and for those with faith, of reassurance.