I do not like John Osbourne (JO) plays & films.His male characters are either sarcastic, unlikeable, boozy, pseudo-intellectual, aggressive, sex obsessed characters; and the women are passive, doormat, submissive, don't answer back types.It makes me wonder whether JO really liked women (misogynist?) despite marrying the actress Jill Bennett (who plays NW's mistress).This film really grated on me. Nicol Williamson (NW) at his legal office never seems to do a stroke of work while expecting others to do it for him while putting up with his boorish behaviour.His character has all the negative JO traits outlined above of "Angry Young Man", except he is no longer young.NW's character just sits around making old fashioned sexist remarks at work, while the "dolly birds" there seem to be equally sexually obsessed.Of course NW has a horrible relationship with his wife.NW smokes, drinks womanises, frequents strip joints, and is vile to his wife, daughter and dinner party guests alike.What on earth did the characters in this film see in NW's character and why did they persist in seeing him?In some ways "Inadmissable Evidence" (1968) reminded me of a British version of Jean- Luc Goddard's "Pierrot le Fou" (1965) with Jean-Paul Belmondo.
As a measure of light relief I spotted a young Dot Cotton (June Brown) of "Eastenders" and Uncle Fred (John Savident) lately of Coronation Street, at the dinner party scene.In the scene where he interviews a man charged with "importuning for an immoral purpose" even the man himself criticised NW for not making notes.There was even a suggestive, incestuous scene with his daughter just to add to the negative traits of this old fashioned anti-hero.JO's anti-heroes loved portraying and sneering at the middle classes, swigging wine at dinner parties and wanting an audience for their "clever" remarks and boorish behaviour.5/10
