![]() ![]() ![]() The tale’s multiple layers keep us involved and resonate more strongly upon repeat viewings. For once, I felt Ivory stitched together the artistic, historical, and narrative elements of a film into a seamless whole and presented them with punch and panache. When I first saw The Remains of the Day upon its initial theatrical release in 1993, I went for Hopkins and Thompson but was surprised at how the story and themes quickly piqued my interest and held me spellbound throughout the 134-minute running time. I generally find them stuffy, languorous (dare I say boring?), and more concerned with atmosphere and mood than plot. I must admit I’ve never been much of a fan of Merchant-Ivory films. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), the chief butler, and Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), the head housekeeper, at a lavish country estate during the period just prior to World War II. Over the course of film history, many movies have depicted the rigid, stoic British personality, but perhaps none as incisively - and heartbreakingly - as The Remains of the Day, director James Ivory’s and producer Ismail Merchant’s lyrical, elegant adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about the close yet tense relationship between Mr. The stiff upper lips, reserved nature, disdain for outward displays of emotion, and reluctance to express and indulge feelings and desires. ![]()
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