the fresh films reviews

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The Party (2017)

Director:
Sally Potter
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
GENRE
Drama/Black Comedy
NORWEGIAN TITLE
The Party
RUNNING TIME
71 minutes
Producer:
Kurban Kassam
Christopher Sheppard
Screenwriters:
Sally Potter


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Jinny Emily Mortimer
Tom Cillian Murphy ½
Janet, an idealist Kristin Scott Thomas ½
Martha Cherry Jones
Bill, a materialist Timothy Spall
April, a cynic and realist Patricia Clarkson ½
Gottfried Bruno Ganz

 

Review

Independent filmmaker Sally Potter is the woman behind this little chamber piece of social criticism, set in a British middle-class house where an assortment of long-time, middle-aged friends meet to celebrate the hostess' (Kristin Scott Thomas) recent appointment as shadow health minister. As they settle into their old group dynamics, centered around their differences in ideology, the tension rises with equal parts comedy and tragedy as a result. The film is exclusively character-driven and dialogue-based. And although the tone is set early, Potter manages to create seven different personalities in the midst of it all. We get to share their ideas and realize through their seven separate voices that there are no simple answers, because there's always a valid counter-argument to every question. Inspired acting by the entire ensemble, who really revel in their parts, elevates The Party to 71 minutes of sheer quality.

Copyright © 30.01.2018 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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