Vidas Separadas

I don't know why, sometimes I think it may have to do with previous lives, otherwise why do I feel so comfortable within the discomforts of this English seaside hotel. But the fact is that, often, I want to put it on and sit at one of the tables myself. I believe that Terence Rattigan is the main reason. What a wonderful writer. Then, Gladys Cooper of course, how can such a perfidious mother be such a pleasure to watch? Maybe is that explosive combination of Rattigan/Cooper. Wendy Hiller in one of her few meaty roles in movies, she won an Oscar for it and every nuance, every look is worth pages and pages of exposition. Exquisite. Cathleen Nesbitt is a joy to behold. Deborah Kerr, David Niven who also won the Oscar for his sad impostor, Burt Lancaster and Rita Hayworth bring a dash of Hollywood to the grayness of Bournemouth. Okay, now, dinner is served. Don't let it get cold.

"Separate Tables" dramatizes several life-changing moments in the lives of characters living in a seaside hotel in England in the late 1950s.

These moments focus on sex -- lots of sex, actually -- drinking, class conflict, and career concerns.

The cast is one of the very best that any movie has ever been blessed with. Each star -- and this is an all-star cast -- is pitch perfect.

The black and white cinematography of the hotel's Victorian interior, and each character, is gorgeous. If you like seeing beautiful images on screen, you may enjoy this film for that reason alone.

For me, the problem was the overbearing nature of the screenplay.

Terence Rattigan, the playwright of the stage play on which the movie was based, was a practitioner of the "well made play." In the 1950s in England, new approaches to drama revolutionized the stage. Big Issues were being presented with New Frankness.

Rattigan adopted some of the subject matter and new freedom of this revolution.

So, you have a well made play that's trying to say something socially daring and important.

The problem for me was that the architecture of the screenplay became the most obvious focus on screen -- not Burt Lancaster's great passion, not Rita Hayworth's seductive beauty, not David Niven or Deborah Kerr's pathos.

Characters speak in full paragraphs, with complete punctuation. Characters who are supposed to be in thrall to great passions and confusions are able to deliver unbelievably well-crafted one-liners that sum up decades worth of life history.

At a point when he is supposed to be being driven mad by passion, Burt Lancaster, portraying a working class, drunken writer, delivers a precise summary of the class and sexual issues at play in his relationship to Rita Hayworth, an upper class fashion model and sexual tease.

Since this style of drama is out of fashion now, its intense stylization interfered with my suspension of disbelief. Lancaster's comments sound as incongruous as a chemistry lecture.

The movie does deliver some genuinely touching moments. Wendy Hiller is never less than fantastic. She's utterly believable as an admirable, self-reliant woman.

Deborah Kerr brought tears to my eyes, in spite of the humorous incongruity of seeing her and Lancaster together on screen here after their famous beach scene in "From Here to Eternity." David Niven was also quite poignant.

May Hallat, as the vaguely lesbian Miss Meacham, was a delightful hoot.

"Separate Tables" is a fascinating film in its depiction of women. The female characters are all paired, with one "good" and one "bad" version of each.

There are two young women, two working women, two older women -- one young woman is twisted (Deborah Kerr), the other is healthy (Rod Taylor's fiancée). There is one mean old lady (Gladys Cooper, who did the mean old lady so very well), and one nice old lady (Cathleen Nesbitt). There is a woman who has gotten through her life on her looks (Rita Hayworth) and one who has gotten through life on her hard work (Wendy Hiller).

David Niven, who was never given the credit he deserved for his enormous talent, gives the performance of his career in "Separate Tables." Instead of playing the perpetual nice guy, he is a definite shady character. He deceives everyone into believing that he's a reputable person, especially shy Deborah Kerr. But soon, it is revealed that he's not the person he appears to be, with possible disastrous outcomes...

Featuring a fantastic all-star cast, including Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, and Rod Taylor, "Separate Tables" seems to be a forgotten masterpiece. It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress, and won two...including one for the magnificent David Niven. I highly recommend this movie!

This is without doubt one of the best films I have ever seen. The fact that it all takes place in one small Bournemouth (England) hotel, no violence, no special effects, no thousands of extras, or vast expenditure says it all. Excellent performances from a star studded cast, especially David Niven. It is gripping from start to finish, but by modern standards in a gentle way. A movie possibly mainly for women, but as a man I can only say that I found it very moving. A film I will always watch whenever it comes around as it always will. A classic.

Though Deborah Kerr and David Niven are often singled out for their performances, it's really the sensitive, restrained, and vulnerable performance by Rita Hayworth and her relationship with the intense Burt Lancaster that will make you want to come back to this film again and again.

Kerr is worlds away from her elegant performance in "An Affair to Remember." Her Sybil is dominated by her mother (excellently played by Gladys Cooper), repressed, plain, and rather odd. David Niven plays Major Pollock, a war-story windbag with some disturbing secrets. Niven won the best actor Oscar for his performance. However, on the second viewing of this film, his and Kerr's acting seemed showy and became a little irritating. I'm not so sure they stand the test of time.

The less shrill moments with Wendy Hiller (also excellent), Lancaster, and the lovely, involving Hayworth were a welcome respite. Hayworth, more than anyone else, will break your heart in this film. She makes you care about what happens with her character, Ann. Perhaps their roles weren't as tied to an era as Niven's and Kerr's, but Hiller's, Lancaster's, and Hayworth's acting styles certainly seem more natural and real.

Cathleen Nesbitt also turns in a warm and lovely performance as Lady Matheson.

I definitely recommend this movie!