Firth. Firth. Colin Firth in Relative Values. Page updated May 2000

r e v i e w s



From the BBC film review, June 21

Eric Styles has kept Coward's play evenly balanced between satire and farce, and for every waspish line there is an outbreak of running around and door-slamming. Andrews savours every vowel as the kind of woman who appears to be nice even when being highly offensive, Colin Firth is increasingly hilarious as the cousin who has an objective view of the spiralling lunacy, Stephen Fry is predictably (but no less amusingly) cast as the urbane, intelligent butler, and Sophie Thompson has a grand old time feigning airs and graces. Fun in every frame.



From The London Times, June 21 2000:

Dear, darling Julie Andrews. To some she is the governess we never had. To others she is the nun whom Christopher Plummer had far too much. In Eric Styles's beautifully transposed version of Noel Coward's 1951 comedy, Relative Values, she blooms and blasts into the Mother Superior of leading ladies. The hair is slightly more orange than usual, the face is a blaze of freckles, and the bosom is far ampler than any of us would care to remember. As the doughty Countess of Marshwood, she is the picture of primness and poise. She has much to disapprove of, and a lot to reveal. Her dashing son, the Earl (Edward Atterton), has fallen for a Hollywood starlet. Worse, he's bringing her home to be his bride. We are never in any doubt about the seriousness of this country-house catastrophe.

Jeanne Tripplehorn's pouting flake looks suspiciously older than Atterton's sixth-form earl. Her career is on the skids. Her famously sozzled former boyfriend (William Baldwin) arrives unannounced. Relatively speaking, she belongs downstairs - which is precisely where her long-forgotten and stunningly plain sister, Moxie (Sophie Thompson), has resided for 20 years.

Social meltdown is on the cards. "If ever a girl needed her bottom smacking, she did," squeals Thompson with a perfect Sidcup accent.

How Styles managed to leap from his first film, Dreaming of Joseph Lees (a ghastly piece of Northern grit), to this champagne charmer defies gravitas.

Characters who struggle for oxygen on stage here compete to steal whole scenes. Stephen Fry is spookily perfect as one of life's natural butlers. Colin Firth, as Coward's acid-stripping alter-ego, has a way with one-liners that's almost indecent.

But there's no mistaking the star and chief manipulator of this frivolous classic. Andrews could use a lot more steel, and a little less twinkle, when sticking the knife into the luckless Tripplehorn. Perhaps she simply hates the sight of blood.



From the Noël Coward website:

Colin Firth playing Felicity's nephew, Peter, is a wonderful foil for her [Julie Andrews] in her more michievious moments in the film and is a genuinely funny character from start to finish. Sophie Thompson must plead guilty to almost stealing the film. Her performance, in what is a pivotal role in the plot, is comic acting at its finest with both pathos and humour. /.../

For the Coward purists - the play is there - and at times the text is largely untouched. The exciting thing is that in enlarging the play, to make the film, nothing is lost and a lot has been gained. The underlying structure of the three act play is there but much has been added to give context and richness to the plot and the action. Essentially the film feels right, in period and is very Coward! Eric Styles has done a wonderful job in directing a comedic film of considerable weight within a limited budget, with, one has to say, excellent actors. This film should be the surprise hit of the year. It is a 'must see' film! Go here to read the full review.



From Film Review, review by Jim Smith:

The enjoyment to be had from Relative Values (and that enjoyment is considerable) is due to the sympathetic adaption of the script, the "sunny day" atmosphere of the country retreat setting, and terrific ensemble casting.

It has been an age since Julie Andrews graced the silver screen and she clearly relishes her typical Coward matriarch figure, but brings to her a warmth and yes, light sexiness that works wonderfully. Jeanne Tripplehorn makes me drool, frankly, and as Miranda Frayle, Hollywood superstar, she gives a knock-out self-mocking turn that might rank as her best screen work to date. Billy Baldwin also demonstrates an admirable ability to laugh at both himself and the cliches of his profession, while hinting at the humanity behind the stardom.

In Coward's own role of Peter, Colin Firth, sex symbol and TV icon, is cast thoroughly against type - and clearly revels in it. Whether changing sly looks and pink gins, sneering at his family or conspiring with the maid, Firth is a delight.

The family butler is Stephen Fry. He could do this in his sleep, but no one else could do it so well, so it's nice to have him on board. Everyone else chips in with bright, convincing, appropriate performances and the period detail is exquisite.

As well as examing an older type of film making, Relative Values evokes it. Simply done, charmingly played and clocking in at just under an hour and a half, it's an absolute pleasure.

BACK | MORE TO COME...
HOME | NEWS | TIMELINE | PICTURE GALLERY | ARTICLES