The Bookshop (2017)

England 1959. In a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.

Director:

Isabel Coixet

Writers:

Isabel Coixet (screenplay), Penelope Fitzgerald (novel)

Stars:

Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Hunter Tremayne

13 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Mortimer	...	Florence Green
Bill Nighy	...	Edmund Brundish
Hunter Tremayne	...	Mr. Keble
Honor Kneafsey	...	Christine
Michael Fitzgerald	...	Mr. Raven
Frances Barber	...	Jessie
Reg Wilson	...	General Gamart
James Lance	...	Milo North
Patricia Clarkson	...	Violet Gamart
Lucy Beckwith	...	Guest One
Nigel O'Neill	...	Mr. Deben
Jorge Suquet	...	Mr. Thornton
Harvey Bennett	...	Wally
Lana O'Kell	...	Ivy Welford
Adie Allen	...	Mrs. Traill

Storyline

England, 1959. Free-spirited widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) risks everything to open a bookshop in a conservative East Anglian coastal town. While bringing about a surprising cultural awakening through works by Ray Bradbury and Vladimir Nabokov, she earns the polite but ruthless opposition of a local grand dame (Patricia Clarkson) and the support and affection of a reclusive book loving widower (Bill Nighy). As Florence's obstacles amass and bear suspicious signs of a local power struggle, she is forced to ask: is there a place for a bookshop in a town that may not want one? Based on Penelope Fitzgerald's acclaimed novel and directed by Isabel Coixet (Learning to Drive), The Bookshop is an elegant yet incisive rendering of personal resolve, tested in the battle for the soul of a community.

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Plot Keywords:

bookshop | shopkeeper | literature | small town | year 1959 | 

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Taglines:

A town without a bookshop is no town at all.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements, language, and brief smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official website

Country:

UK Spain Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

La librería

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

€3,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diagonal TV,A Contracorriente Films,Green Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

-On 13 December 2017, The Bookshop received 12 nominations for the XXXIIIrd edition of the Goya Awards, by the Spanish Cinema Acedemy.

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Goofs

A book purporting to be Philip Larkin's Collected Poems appears several times in this film. However, Larkin's poetry was not brought together in a single volume until 1988, 29 years after this film was set.

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Quotes

Milo North: Has anyone ever told you that you have a marvelous pair of ankles?

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Soundtracks

Feeling Lonely on a Sunday Afternoon
Written by Alfonso de Vilallonga
Performed by Ala.ni

User Reviews

I enjoyed this movie thoroughly.

I have never bothered to write a review before so here it is. A young widow of 16 years pursues her dream of owning and operating a bookshop in a fictional village, Hardbourough, Suffolk, UK.. She, Mrs. Green, is a woman of integrity, (Emily Mortimer). We come to know her by how she treats others and the developing relationships she has in this new town of hers. The young people of the story, Christine, the young local girl working in the bookshop, even though she doesn't like to read. The young boy, Wally, running errands and delivering correspondence from Florence to Mr. Brundish (Bill Nighy). They come to admire Florence Green, seeing her courage as she goes against the wishes of the local socialite, Violet Gamart. (Patricia Clarkson) . Violet is a nasty piece of work invoking a deep disdain in ones emotions. The story is full of examples of strength of the human spirit and how good eventually overcomes wickedness in unpredictable ways. The last scenes make the entire film worth watching,(a tad slow I'll admit) , until you get there and unexpectedly see how this charming story delightfully ends.