Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool (15.)
Directed by Paul McGuigan.
Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Kenneth Cranham, Stephen Graham and Vanessa Redgrave. 106 mins
Liverpool has suffered more than its fair share of ignominies over the years. The title of this film uses Liverpool to symbolise the festering abyss all flesh is destined for and which strips away every shred of dignity and achievement; even Boris Johnson might consider that a bit harsh. The film star who shouldn't suffer this indignity is Gloria Grahame (Bening), a big star and Oscar winner in the fifties. In her heyday, she appeared opposite Bogart and lived next to him in a twelve bedroom mansion in the Hollywood Hills. How could it be that by 1981, she was wasting away in Julie Walters' upstairs bedroom in a Liverpool back to back?
(Two of her most famous films, In a Lonely Place, with Bogart, and The Big Heat are being rereleased next week.)
If film stars don't die in Liverpool, surely Mrs Warren Beatty doesn't appear in British movies that don't have two pennies to rub together. Well, it is hard for women of a certain age who aren't Meryl Streep to get good roles. So, like Gloria Grahame, she is going where the work is, and doing a magnificent job of it. The film is brave enough to show footage of the real Grahame in the 50s and you can absolutely believe that she could grow into the Bening we see on the screen.
The cause for her to be in Merseyside is toyboy lover Peter Turner (Bell.) The film's narrative shuttles back and forth around the two years of their relationship. Turner struts into the film like he's going to be the bad boy, but quickly turns out to be the nice boy from a good family. He cares deeply for Grahame. (The film is based on Turner's memoir of the same title.) There's not much in the way of drama in the film, but it isn't missed. It offers a touching expression of the simple poignancy of growing old and dying, and the knowledge that not even an Oscar win can spare you from it.
Directed by Paul McGuigan.
Starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Kenneth Cranham, Stephen Graham and Vanessa Redgrave. 106 mins
Liverpool has suffered more than its fair share of ignominies over the years. The title of this film uses Liverpool to symbolise the festering abyss all flesh is destined for and which strips away every shred of dignity and achievement; even Boris Johnson might consider that a bit harsh. The film star who shouldn't suffer this indignity is Gloria Grahame (Bening), a big star and Oscar winner in the fifties. In her heyday, she appeared opposite Bogart and lived next to him in a twelve bedroom mansion in the Hollywood Hills. How could it be that by 1981, she was wasting away in Julie Walters' upstairs bedroom in a Liverpool back to back?
(Two of her most famous films, In a Lonely Place, with Bogart, and The Big Heat are being rereleased next week.)
If film stars don't die in Liverpool, surely Mrs Warren Beatty doesn't appear in British movies that don't have two pennies to rub together. Well, it is hard for women of a certain age who aren't Meryl Streep to get good roles. So, like Gloria Grahame, she is going where the work is, and doing a magnificent job of it. The film is brave enough to show footage of the real Grahame in the 50s and you can absolutely believe that she could grow into the Bening we see on the screen.
The cause for her to be in Merseyside is toyboy lover Peter Turner (Bell.) The film's narrative shuttles back and forth around the two years of their relationship. Turner struts into the film like he's going to be the bad boy, but quickly turns out to be the nice boy from a good family. He cares deeply for Grahame. (The film is based on Turner's memoir of the same title.) There's not much in the way of drama in the film, but it isn't missed. It offers a touching expression of the simple poignancy of growing old and dying, and the knowledge that not even an Oscar win can spare you from it.
