This movie seems to confirm that the British class system can best be understood by 'outsiders' looking in: We have the novel of Kazuo Ishigiro (Japanese descent but born and raised in Britain), the adaptation for screen by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Born in Germany, but lived some time in Britain) and direction by James Ivory (American). Of course Scorsese made The Age of Innocence, Ang Lee Sense and Sensibility and Altman Gosford Park.
This is very well written for the screen. It shows that social layering and ranking is always present under the direct surface (although outsiders usually are ignorant of this). What's of interest is not the social niceties, but what isn't said and only implicitly pointed to. When Stevens' father tells Stevens he's been a good father there is no response. The whole Platonian love relation between Stevens and Miss Kenton follows this path and the tragedy being that lack of communication is strangling their lives. In this way it's also an indictment of the class system itself. To make this point stronger their relation is the core of the story but is told against the backdrop of other events in the house.
A parallel can be drawn between the bad choices of Darlington as homeowner and Stevens as butler. But while Darlington seems merely ignorant, Stevens is not but pretends to be (hence all the lies when his car breaks down). When Lewis (American) takes over the house a final opportunity comes to set things right and Stevens is 'freed' (the pigeon sequence).
Hopkins not only plays Stevens, he is Stevens. For the ones who doubted about the acting capabilities of the late Christopher Reeve this is necessary viewing.
Too many sideways in the story make no sense in telling the main story. Part of this is to blame by the choice to tell it as a back story. Also the politics of appeasement to Hitler in Britain could be brought stronger and with more impact. So it is somewhat strangled by its own constructional choices. But the choice to tell this with flashbacks is basically a good one.
This is very well written for the screen. It shows that social layering and ranking is always present under the direct surface (although outsiders usually are ignorant of this). What's of interest is not the social niceties, but what isn't said and only implicitly pointed to. When Stevens' father tells Stevens he's been a good father there is no response. The whole Platonian love relation between Stevens and Miss Kenton follows this path and the tragedy being that lack of communication is strangling their lives. In this way it's also an indictment of the class system itself. To make this point stronger their relation is the core of the story but is told against the backdrop of other events in the house.
A parallel can be drawn between the bad choices of Darlington as homeowner and Stevens as butler. But while Darlington seems merely ignorant, Stevens is not but pretends to be (hence all the lies when his car breaks down). When Lewis (American) takes over the house a final opportunity comes to set things right and Stevens is 'freed' (the pigeon sequence).
Hopkins not only plays Stevens, he is Stevens. For the ones who doubted about the acting capabilities of the late Christopher Reeve this is necessary viewing.
Too many sideways in the story make no sense in telling the main story. Part of this is to blame by the choice to tell it as a back story. Also the politics of appeasement to Hitler in Britain could be brought stronger and with more impact. So it is somewhat strangled by its own constructional choices. But the choice to tell this with flashbacks is basically a good one.