The novel tells, in first-person narration, the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens describes in increasing detail in flashbacks). In 2022, it was included on the " Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. A film adaptation of the novel, made in 1993 and starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, was nominated for eight Academy Awards. The work received the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989. In 1956, he takes a road trip to visit a former colleague, and reminisces about events at Darlington Hall in the 1920s and 1930s.
The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, England. I have seen it a number of times, it remains absorbing and fresh.The Remains of the Day is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. And the magic does not decrease with repeated viewing. You are swept in at the beginning and stay rapt till the end. Everything in the film looks good- clean, bright and sharp.
The period details are wonderfully executed and you are impressed by the order and efficiency in the running of the stately home. It is sad, actually heart-rending, but not gloomy. But in "The Remains of the Day" everything works. I thought it failed to set the mood and put across the emotions. It is adapted from a lovely book but I disliked the film. I have seen "A Room With a View", another effort from the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabwala team. Among the many great scenes there is a hilarious laugh-out-loud sequence with Hopkins and Grant. His sentiments and suggestibility lead him to misguided positions and tragedy. Here he played an essentially decent man who is not too bright but has been born into wealth and influence. James Fox was a revelation as prior to this I had only seen him in very light roles. Sadly his talent is too often misused and misapplied. Hugh Grant has a small part and plays it perfectly. But all the actors are excellent, even in the most minor parts. Then just how is it that we are able to follow the emotional undercurrents? Emma Thompson is also brilliant as the energetic housekeeper who does display and express her feelings without ever stating them directly. Stevens the butler never shows any emotion so his face is always suitably deadpan. Anthony Hopkins performance is awe-inspiring and difficult to describe. I can only repeat what most previous commentators have said.
0 kommentar(er)
