A party for the political and intellectual elite ends with blood on the floor. Miriam Blakemore-Hoy went to see if The Party was worth attending...
You are invited to a party. There is a select guest-list though the vol-au-vents are in short supply. The wine will be free flowing and there will be plenty of drama on the side. Expect a sterling performance from the hostess and a few twists and turns along the way…
The husband of the host, Bill (Timothy Spall) appears to be in a functional daze, while dysfunctional couple April (Patricia Clarkson) and Gottfried (Bruno Ganz) are keeping things lively and razor-sharp with their mismatched views on life. In the meantime, newly expecting couple Jinny (Emily Mortimer) and Martha (Cherry Jones) veer wildly between absolute happiness and desperate despair over the state of their relationship, and Tom (Cillian Murphy) is swinging solo while waiting for his elusive wife to appear. They may all be there to celebration Janet’s appointment to the shadow cabinet, but they’re each bringing plenty of baggage with them and it’s not going to be pretty. Written and directed by Sally Potter, The Party is one of those rare, wonderful films that only comes along once in a while. Beautifully shot in black and white, Aleksei Rodionov’s cinematography is exquisite, giving it a real yet old-cinema feel. Potter’s dialogue is dark and witty with an occasional bite that the cast revels in delivering. Set in real time over the course of an evening dinner party, we get to ride along as Janet’s (Kristin Scott Thomas’) carefully set plans begin to disintegrate and end in a chaotic free-fall.
This is a tragicomedy of epic proportions
The film opens with a shot of Janet, dishevelled and dirty, raising a gun ready to shoot. This sets a hint for what is to follow. Swiftly backtracking before the farce begins, Janet happily sets about her culinary preparations for the party, all the while being interrupted with congratulatory calls and texts from friends and family. There is also an anonymous sender of risqué messages who peppers the drama with intriguing interruptions yet there is no clue as to their identity. Bill seems to be having an existential crisis, having found himself suddenly as a spouse being dragged into the spotlight against their will, “I’m Bill… or at least I used to be” he helplessly states as he wrestles with the imminent change in his reality. While cynical realist April and her life-coach new-age boyfriend Gottfried prepare for their “final supper” together, Jinny terrifies Martha with the news that they are expecting not one but three babies which leads to a few revelations that involve more than just themselves. Since turning up late, Tom the “wanker-banker” spends the first part of the evening in the bathroom snorting coke, juggling a firearm that he is trying to hide and psyching himself up for something. The truths blossom out to a serenade of brilliantly inappropriate tracks, played through Bill’s precious record player. This is a tragicomedy of epic proportions which begins so gently and unobtrusively and ends with a bang.
Each of the actors brings a fantastic performance to the screen, although Cillian Murphy and Kristin Scott Thomas shine in particular for me. I haven’t been to a cinema showing for a long time where the audience start out shyly giggling between themselves and end up shrieking with astonished laughter. This is an excellent 71 mins of acerbic and original entertainment, something I think we could all do with a lot more of.
The Party is screening at Broadway Cinema until Thursday 26 October
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