In Celebration

This is old school acting so redolent of the British stage during its 'angry young man' heyday. Bolam simmers throughout and does more with a body posture than other modern actors do with a facial expression; Cox ruminates throughout, a beautiful portrayal of a soul in torment; and Bates gesticulates, explodes and with sheer energy of purpose drives this drama. This is acting of the highest order. Yes it's stagey - it was written for the stage! But Anderson takes us up close and personal mirroring the claustrophobia of the subject matter - a family crippled by the past and barely able to cover the cracks. The director makes us feel like we are part of the room and it is uncomfortable but compulsive viewing.

If you are looking for some of the wonderful off kilter charm of Lindsey Anderson's other films, you might be disappointed with this. If you are able to respond to great filmed theater along the lines of "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Long Day's Journey Into Night," Olivier's "Othello" and indeed the American Film Theater's great movie "The Homecoming", you may go all the way with this one, which I found a deeply moving experience.

Storey's play has some odd parallels to Pinter's "Homecoming" (a comic horror story of family that is perhaps the best of the brief life of the American Film Theater series) and perhaps primed by that film

I was sort of waiting for something bitter or freakish to occur for about the first half. But it is Storey's purpose to illustrate that even among families of great love and decency, dark secrets and bitter resentments can brew.

The film brings much humor and intensity to the subject. It's a thing of beauty. Critically

the affection Storey has for his characters never slips into sentimentality. This movie was a

big discovery for me. Give it a shot and see what you think.

Lindsay Anderson directs a stage play adapted by writer David Storey.

It is set in a Derbyshire mining town as Mr and Mrs Shaw (Bill Owen and Constance Chapman) celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary and their three sons have come to join in with the celebrations.

Mr Shaw is a miner, he plans to complete his 50th year in the mine pit which is next year and retire. His sons want him to retire now. Mrs Shaw seems to have come from a well to do family, she might had become pregnant by her husband hence she married beneath him yet she does not come across as too bright but seems to have been a dutiful wife and mother.

Tensions emerge once all the sons come around and there seems to be memories of the eldest child who died as a boy which no one is sure of why which seems to be the catalyst.

Andrew (Alan Bates) is the eldest and the most fractious. He is a solicitor who has gone on to become a drifter and a artist off sorts.

Colin (James Bolam) seems to have been left wing rebel now a negotiator for his company, a well off executive with a company car but unmarried. Again Andrew pulls his leg by questioning his sexuality.

Steven (Brian Cox) the youngest is a writer but has stopped writing. He is married with children but seems to be haunted by the past.

Periodically their neighbour Mrs Burnett drops in.

The film is a series of tensions that come on and off the boil interspersed with humour. The trouble is it looks too much of a stage play which has not been opened up. It is nicely acted but some of it was hard to understand as well. It actually does not feel like a feature film but more like a BBC Play for Today.

The acting here is quite competent, and it is interesting to watch one of Lindsay Anderson's lesser known films, however adapted from a theatre play, it does not disguise its roots very well, and it is quite talkative with little real action. Action is not necessary for all types of film, but in this case having the characters sitting or standing about while talking is not enough for the material to have spice. It is about emotional confrontations, and sure enough, the performers deliver well in some intense scenes. But as a film and not a theatre production, it only ever feels half-baked, and it certainly does not showcase Anderson's directing skills, which proved to be great in his trilogy with Malcolm McDowell.

'In Celebration' is not my favourite of the plays adapted on film for the American Film Theatre series. Do prefer the ones with more complex characterisation and the ones with more of an emotional core, such as 'The Iceman Cometh' and 'Three Sisters'. As a play, 'In Celebration' is still very good and very interesting. It is hard to resist such great actors, such as Alan Bates, James Bolam and Brian Cox, and a fine director in Lindsay Anderson.

As far as the American Film Theatre films go, 'In Celebration' is not one of the best. It's not 'The Iceman Cometh', 'The Homecoming' and 'Butley'. It is still in the better half in a film series where most were in the middling category, and something of a relief after being very underwhelmed by 'Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris' shortly beforehand. It's not perfect, but it is still incredibly well acted (a common strength in the series) and intelligently staged.

Shall get the not so good things out of the way. Nothing is done terribly but some things work better than others. Like most other films in the American Film Theatre series, the stage origins are obvious and not a lot is done opening the action up in such an intimate setting and while much of the stage direction is very intelligent with the character dynamics it's a little on the safe side.

The ending, and this is true of the play itself actually, is abrupt and it also feels incomplete. It at times drags in the talkier sections and the suspense could have been more.

Like pretty much all the American Film Theatre films, the best component of 'In Celebration' is the acting. Bates' hard hitting performance is justifiably lauded, but Bolam and particularly Cox are also splendid and should not be overlooked. Anderson directs with a lot of intelligence and stays loyal to the spirit and details of the play beautifully on the whole. The film is nicely shot and the intimate setting doesn't always come over as over-confined.

Furthermore, the drama is more often than not very harrowing and moving, especially when the already richly drawn characters are more troubled. The script is wry and thoughtful and captures beautifully and the characters' complexities (namely the most troubled Steven). Christopher Gunning's score is unobtrusive and subtle enough, allowing the atmosphere created by the performances to speak.

Overall, not perfect but there is a lot to be impressed by and celebrate. 7/10.