The Remains of the Day

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reeve, James Fox, Peter Vaughan, Ben Chaplin, Steve Dibben, Hugh Grant, Peter Halliday, Jeffry Wickham, Michael Lonsdale, Lena Headey, Pip Torrens
Directed by: James Ivory
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
1993

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A butler (Anthony Hopkins) brought up to provide perfectly loyal service finds his role increasingly complicated by the actions of his employer in the lead up to World War II, as well as by the introduction of a new employee (Emma Thompson) into the service.

Review:

Tim: Several years ago, I read and loved Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. His novel was subtly heartbreaking. It's a book I never forgot. The way he approaches his characters and their worldviews was shattering in its conclusion. I always wanted to watch the movie, but it took me multiple years to get around to it. James Ivory's film is really good, but it doesn't possess the same depths or emotional onslaught that the novel delivers. This was probably to be expected. I don't necessarily fault the film- it's exceptionally well made and a nice adaptation. The Remains of the Day is very much worth seeing.

The book's real value comes in its welcoming you into a world most of us are unfamiliar with- the idea of English servants, especially in the earlier part of the 20th century. This is a world unlike ours, where blind loyalty, unshakeable professionalism, constant personal self-sacrifice are all praised and honored above all things. It's fascinating to get into the minutia of what this life entails. And, the book's brilliance comes from exploring what it takes at a human level to perfect yourself in this world. The film is different. It touches on these elements, but can't spend the time required to dig deeply. Instead, it's focused primarily on the characters. This obviously sets up the cast to be of utmost importance. Ivory's film works so well because it assembles a nearly perfect main cast for the film.

The role of Stevens is brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins. I find it difficult to express in words how outstanding an actor Hopkins is. He can play nearly any role and he raises every character he has to unfathomable heights. I simply loved watching Hopkins in this role. He perfectly embodies the character from the film. His performance is suitably restrained, but he showcases so much subtly in his performance- the little pauses, how he moves his eyes- he conveys great depths of complexity to a character than can feel very surface-level. I can't imagine anyone else in this role- Hopkins' performance hits all the right notes. He has a great partner in Emma Thompson. Miss Kenton was important in the book, but Thompson seems to elevate her importance and her impact even more with her performance. She's an extremely talented actress and she brings just enough energy to the role to differentiate her from Hopkins. It's wonderful watching these two very different characters interact, obviously because it's so fun seeing Hopkins and Thompson playing off each other.

The supporting cast is impressive, too. Christopher Reeve gives an exceptionally strong supporting performance. He's limited in his screen time, but he makes his character memorable. James Fox was the ideal choice for Lord Darlington. He makes an obvious contrast with Reeve, which was critical to the film. Peter Vaughn makes an outsized impact as the elder Stevens. I thought Vaughn's performance elicited all the right emotions from us. At times, a tinge of disgust. At others, immense pity. He and Hopkins worked exceptionally well together. Hugh Grant has a smaller supporting role, but he brightened the film every time he was on screen. Lena Headey gives a nice, small performance. It was fun seeing Ben Chaplin in an early role, too. The entire cast is assembled with care and they all manage to give impressive performances. That's a big reason why the film works so well.

I do want to mention the one aspect of the novel that didn't quite make the transition to the screen. When reading the novel, you quickly understand Stevens' worldview. He takes such pride in his beliefs, his approach, his job. There's a moment after (SPOILER ALERT) the death of a loved one where his reaction is so at odds with what a healthy human reaction would be. Reading the novel, this absolutely gutted me. To read a character's perspective when they so misread a situation, when they feel pride when they should be ashamed, when you realize what they were taught their entire life will inevitably restrain them from living a full and rewarding life, it should absolutely crush you as a reader. I can still vividly recall that moment when I thought, "My god, this man's life is a tragedy and he doesn't even recognize it." It's one of those moments of reading that will never leave me. The film can't get there. You need the words, you need to peer inside of Stevens' head to fully appreciate this moment. That's what made me love the novel and it doesn't show up here.

That being said, there are other major strengths here. It does feel like a very English film. The novel touches on this, but it's helpful to be able to see it with our eyes. It's deeply steeped in that world and seeing the efficiency with which an estate like this is run is quite remarkable. I do wonder if that immersion in the world made it harder to connect with American audiences? The film is really good, and it was nominated for a stunning 8 Academy Awards. Unfortunately, it went 0 for 8 at the award ceremony. This always makes me feel a bit sad. I agree this isn't quite a great film, but it would have been nice for it to have won at least one. The nominations were Best Picture and Best Director, which makes sense. No surprise that Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson were nominated for Best Actor and Actress, those are very deserved. Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score round out the nominees. That alone suggests the film is worth seeing, although it's unfortunate it couldn't pick up a single Oscar. I wouldn't say that was totally outrageous, though. I'd consider this a very well-made, solid movie, but one that doesn't reach greatness. It's not among the top 10 movies of 1993 in my mind.

That being said, I want mostly to praise The Remains of the Day. It doesn't have the emotional depth of the novel, but that's always a bit of an unfair piece of criticism. It's a strong adaptation of a wonderful book. Ivory directs a thoroughly engrossing, entertaining film that never loses us, even though it's 2 hours and 14 minutes in length. That's a long movie, but I never felt that. I was engrossed from beginning to end. It features some wonderful performances by an impressive cast. This is a movie that deserves our praise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



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