Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Movie review - "Country Dance" (1970) **

 Some excellent acting from Peter O'Toole and Susannah York especially in the last third when the movie gets more serious. That's when the film seems to find its rhythm. Until then its a hard slog to be honest with the leads running around being flamboyant. It was hard to care about the antics of impoverished upper class. I knew O'Toole was hot for York so it wasn't a shock. I think more needed to actually happen.

Michael Craig is very good as York's estranged husband. There's also decent turns from Harry Andrews as another lord and Brian Blessed, without a beard, as a young buck who York sleeps with. The girl who plays the pregnant maid is a little dull.

Shot in Ireland. The film feels bog-gy which is appropriate. An attempt by J. Lee Thompson to make something with more street cred but I don't feel he does a good job. Compare his direction with that in say his Ted Willis adaptations where he got the camera right in there.

No comments: