Bryan Forbes was able to greenlight his own movies while head of EMI Films. He wrote and directed this piece of "sick lit" about the romance between two people in wheelchairs living in a home. That's not a bad idea for a film - you can imagine guaranteed tears, an exciting support part, a villain or two.
But it takes about 44 minutes for Nanette Newman to appear and the drama is undercooked. It needed a villain and more - I don't know, drama. Or at the very least more scenes between Newman and Malcolm McDowell -it takes them an hour into the film to spend any time together.
It takes McDowell 20 minutes to get into the wheelchair. I don't mind that in theory but he's such a boorish brat during that time - a sex pest on the bus, a sledger on the soccer field, a boor at the dinner. He doesn't become a nice person until past the hour mark - indeed Newman doesn't become lively until then either. So we've got to get through an hour of the film before they're nice. I know characters don't have to be likeable, but surely they have to be compelling in some way?
Newman is pretty and can act and I liked her character - a woman who wants to have sex. But she's too old and matronly for the part - she lacks the spark and life the character needs. Someone like Susan George would have been better. McDowell and Newman don't really have much chemistry. (Maybe Forbes should have played the male lead.)
There is some decent satire, I should say - the cheery minister, the pompous administrator. The acting is strong, even if Newman is miscast.
The film is curiously evasive about some things - the cause of McDowell's injury, the impact of it on his life. We don't see Newman die.
The movie's heart is in the right place. I just wish it was better.
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