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IMDbPro

The Bookshop

  • 20172017
  • PGPG
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
16K
YOUR RATING
The Bookshop (2017)
Watch The Bookshop - Official Trailer
Play trailer2:15
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Drama
England 1959. In a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.England 1959. In a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.England 1959. In a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
16K
YOUR RATING
    • Isabel Coixet
    • Isabel Coixet(screenplay)
    • Penelope Fitzgerald(novel)
  • Stars
    • Emily Mortimer
    • Bill Nighy
    • Hunter Tremayne
    • Isabel Coixet
    • Isabel Coixet(screenplay)
    • Penelope Fitzgerald(novel)
  • Stars
    • Emily Mortimer
    • Bill Nighy
    • Hunter Tremayne
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 169User reviews
    • 111Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    The Bookshop - Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:15
    Watch The Bookshop - Official Trailer
    The Bookshop
    Trailer 2:06
    Watch The Bookshop

    Photos115

    The Bookshop (2017)
    The Bookshop (2017)
    The Bookshop (2017)
    The Bookshop (2017)
    The Bookshop (2017)
    The Bookshop (2017)
    Emily Mortimer in The Bookshop (2017)
    Emily Mortimer in The Bookshop (2017)
    Emily Mortimer in The Bookshop (2017)
    Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, and Bill Nighy in The Bookshop (2017)
    Emily Mortimer in The Bookshop (2017)
    Emily Mortimer in The Bookshop (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Emily Mortimer
    Emily Mortimer
    • Florence Green
    Bill Nighy
    Bill Nighy
    • Edmund Brundish
    Hunter Tremayne
    Hunter Tremayne
    • Mr. Keble
    Honor Kneafsey
    Honor Kneafsey
    • Christine
    Michael Fitzgerald
    Michael Fitzgerald
    • Mr. Raven
    Frances Barber
    Frances Barber
    • Jessie
    Reg Wilson
    Reg Wilson
    • General Gamart
    James Lance
    James Lance
    • Milo North
    Patricia Clarkson
    Patricia Clarkson
    • Violet Gamart
    Lucy Beckwith
    • Guest One
    Nigel O'Neill
    Nigel O'Neill
    • Mr. Deben
    Jorge Suquet
    Jorge Suquet
    • Mr. Thornton
    Harvey Bennett
    • Wally
    Lana O'Kell
    • Ivy Welford
    Adie Allen
    Adie Allen
    • Mrs. Traill
    Lucy Tillett
    • Mrs. Gipping
    Toby Gibson
    • Peter Gipping
    Gary Piquer
    Gary Piquer
    • Mr. Gill
      • Isabel Coixet
      • Isabel Coixet(screenplay)
      • Penelope Fitzgerald(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The narrator is Julie Christie. A half century earlier, Ms Christie starred in the film Fahrenheit 451 (1966), adapted from the Ray Bradbury novel that was prominently featured in Bookshop.
    • Goofs
      Inside the bookshop, modern Penguin Clothbound Classics can be seen on the shelves. These editions were put out in the last 20 years, bound to look like older styles, but are, indeed, recent publications.
    • Quotes

      Edmund Brundish: Old age is not the same thing as historical interest. Otherwise you and I would be far more interesting than we are.

    • Soundtracks
      Feeling Lonely on a Sunday Afternoon
      Written by Alfonso de Vilallonga

      Performed by Ala.ni

    User reviews169

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    a slow-moving village drama full of old-world Britishness
    Echoes of Dylan Thomas' Under Milkwood whisper throughout the deliciously slow film The Bookshop (2017), a village drama that captures the essence of old-world Britishness. If narrative action is important to you there is little to see here, but if you enjoy character portraits you will love this inconsequential tale told beautifully.

    Set in a sleepy 1959 seaside port, young widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) arrives determined to overcome her grief and open a small bookshop. The town has never had a bookshop and most of the villagers don't like books anyway, except for the reclusive Mr Brundish (Bill Nighy) who reads everything he can. After pushing through a wall of petty officials the shop opens in a run-down cottage despite fierce opposition from the imperious Mrs Gamart (Patricia Clarkson). She wants the cottage reclaimed as an arts centre, so battle-lines are drawn between small-mindedness and the winds of change.

    At times the story slows down so much that it almost stops, just to watch tall grass swaying in the wind or to hear leaves sighing on trees. The camera lingers in the space between words or glances, or it traverses shelves full of books with titles hinting that change is coming. Even the film's highlight romantic scene is little more than agonisingly tender moments that evaporate into the ether. Fortunately, the cinematography is up to the challenge of capturing mood and nuance as it dwells on Bradbury's dystopian Fahrenheit 451 (1953)and Nabokov's controversial Lolita (1955)to telegraph the post-war social transformation that is underway elsewhere.

    Instead of pushing the narrative forward, the film prefers to dwell on archetypal caricatures of small people in small places. A smug gadabout, a banker nicknamed Mr Potato Head, a smelly fishmonger, a precocious teenager, a dithering lawyer, the snobbish and manipulative Mrs Gamart, and of course, the incurable romantic Mr Brundish. While these are portrayed with a light brush, it is Florence who holds our attention for the depth of her vanguard feminist courage and self-belief. The entire cast is well chosen, but Emily Mortimer is the film's undoubted shining star.

    It might be argued that Bill Nighy is such an icon of British movies that he overpowers any given role simply by being a composite of every other persona he has ever played. In other words: he is always Bill Nighy. But that is a minor distraction in an otherwise flawlessly directed, slow-burning village drama of how books and ideas can change the world we live in. It is not recommended, however, for anyone who does not have the time or need to stop and smell flowers or watch boats sail by.
    helpful•105
    15
    • CineMuseFilms
    • Jun 5, 2018

    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 24, 2018 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • Spain
      • Germany
      • France
      • Official site (Japan)
      • Official website
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Portaferry, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK
    • Production companies
      • Diagonal TV
      • A Contracorriente Films
      • Green Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 53 minutes
      • Color

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