percyporcelain

So good for the first 90 mins, fascinating and atmospheric with terrific performances all round, great attention to detail and plausible twists in the 'conclave' for the selection of the new Pope. But then the holes appear: how can Fr Lawrence (Fiennes) be both supervisor of the election and a candidate without being in an invidious position? Yet nobody seems to challenge his authority. One minute he's probing pruriently into the past of the candidates, then he gets mad at being asked to be a 'witchfinder'. Smears and conspiracies are exposed, yet the candidates disqualified as a result are not restored to the race. And finally (without wishing to spoil the surprise for folks), a 'wild card' candidate emerges and, after a few piously woke words to the electorate, is suddenly in the lead. Didn't work for me, but then I was on the side of the nuns in 'The Magdalen Sisters', LOL!

Relentlessly emotional study of a man whose son is framed for a murder he didn't commit and is facing the gallows. Great performances but the febrile atmosphere never lets up so the whole thing becomes faintly ridiculous. Joan Plowright is indeed great in this early appearance, as is Michael Redgrave who was at the peak of his powers, having played a similarly tormented character in The Browning Version. Whether it was meant as an indictment of capital punishment is open to conjecture but yes, probably. Losey was the kind of director whose politics and social conscience tended to make themselves known.

It's not often I see a film that I get tearful just remembering, but that's "My Sailor, My Love". Doesn't really hit you till the last 10 minutes but boy, will you need a box of Kleenex then. I can't remember such emotional honesty or truthfulness in a film for a long time, if ever. It just resonates perfectly throughout, never making a false move or jarring, never too slow nor too fast, with perfect pace and rhythm, constantly intriguing and rearranging your sympathies so no character is all good or all bad. In the end I felt deeply sorry for Grace (Catherine Walker), the daughter, who was clearly damaged by her absent father as a child. But hey, doesn't that go with the turf for a sailor, so can you really blame the father (James Cosmo)? Exquisite landscapes, beautifully photographed, altogether sensitive and moving.