Keeping Mum

Posted In: Death At A Funeral

Lavinia Kauder says...

This is probably the most touching film about homicidal old ladies I have ever seen. Grace (Maggie Smith) is not your ordinary homicidal grandmother - she has a heart of gold. When she comes into the life of the Reverend of Little Wallop (Rowan Atkinson) she immediately takes a proprietorial interest in his family's wellbeing. Before long Grace is proactively sorting out a lot of family problems - the son's bullies, the daughter's awful boyfriends, the Reverend's lack of confidence and his wife's marital woes. At the same time, a number of people and animals that get in the way of Grace's plans start disappearing. She is so charmingly innocent and so completely well-intentioned that it is hard to hold her methods against her. In fact, I spent most of the film cheering for her. Grace is a very rare character indeed (the closest approximate I can think of is Angela from "Sleepaway Camp II & III" - possibly a younger variation of the same creature) and we need more like her.



The film is undoubtedly aided by an excellent cast. The central character, the reverend's frustrated wife Gloria, is played by the very convincing (not to mention attractive) Kristin Scott Thomas who effectively carries most of the film. Maggie Smith is adorable as the innocently-menacing Grace. Patrick Swayze is perfect as the hunky lothario/sleazoid pursuing both Gloria and her daughter. Jeez, he aged well, and I think he was perfect for this part (which is sort of a compliment). Given first billing despite performing in what was essentially a supporting role,is Rowan Atkinson in probably his most subdued role ever as the Reverend of Little Wallop. Don't let that deter you if you're a fan. He still manages to be hilarious without having to lift a finger and when he does go into full comedy mode he is marvellous. However, it is his performance as the absent-minded workaholic vicar who seems helpless in the face of his unravelling marriage that is both touching and believable and demonstrates acting capabilities I would not have expected of him.



In short, this is a very funny and sweet film that should not be missed.

Posted on July 30, 2011

Jeri Therurer says...

This is a delicious twist on Mary Poppins with Maggie Smith playing the

"trunk killer"...that is she was sent to an institution because she was traveling with a trunk that carried the cut up remains of her philandering husband and his mistress.



Now she's back and doing housework for a minister's family in a small English town.Her approach to problems is to eliminate them...literally.

How can you suspect such a charming, smiling, old lady?



As for the minister, our Maggie Smith has some suggestions...lighten up your sermons with religious jokes and spice up your personal life with a little sex.I loved the "reading" of the Song of Solomon in the movie...one of the best readings of King James selections that was moving and erotic.



This is good fun and a must for Maggie Smith fans.

Posted on July 30, 2011

Lenny Scroggin says...

KEEPING MUM is a little British pastiche of a film based on a story by Richard Russo and adapted for the screen by Niall Johnson who also directs.It is one of those little 'comedies' Sir Alec Guinness made endearing, comedy touched with the morbid, but allowing the completed meal to be wholly palatable.



Opening with a note '43 years earlier' we see a charming and attractive young pregnant woman (Emilia Fox) boarding a train somewhere in England, her only odd characteristic is her large trunk which is seeping blood: the trunk contains the bodies of the girl's husband and mistress and she is carted off to detention.



Jump to the present (or 43 years later) and in a little English village the Vicar, Reverend Walter Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson) tends to his flock and is frustrated with writing a speech for a convention, paying more attention to his clerical duties than to his frustrated wife Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas), his philandering daughter Holly (the beautiful Tamsin Egerton) and his bullied son Petey (Toby Parkes).Holly is having an affair with her lothario golf pro Lance (Patrick Swayze) and in general the family is disheveled - until they hire Grace Hawkins (the inimitable Maggie Smith) who takes up residence with them, her only possession being her 'trunk'.



Grace has her own manner of taking care of distasteful issues: she simply eliminates them and throws them in a pond growing algae.She gradually breaks the news that Holly, an orphan as a child, is the progeny of Grace's pregnancy when she was imprisoned and proceeds to correct the various messes the Goodfellow family has been facing: she peppers the Vicar's sermons with jokes, increasing his congregation and dispenses with the vicar's headache parishioner Mrs. Parker (Liz Smith); she renews the marital fidelity to Gloria and the Vicar, disposing of Lance; she handles the school problems of Petey and the boy problems of Holly. Her trunk ends up being a Pandora's Box for the village and the family!



With a thoroughly delightful cast of pros, settings that are picture perfect, a script that always retains humor even in the most odd circumstances, and a musical score that underlines the flavor of the tale, KEEPING MUMis a delight to watch. Deep it is not, but it is a warmly funny though strange little movie that is a crowd pleaser.Grady Harp, February 07

Posted on August 1, 2011

Romelia Landfried says...

A very pleasant surprise, Keeping Mum, is a dark comedy that brings to the screen the story an English family with quite a few problems, its members living their lives in the relative quiet of the countryside.Things take a turn for the better when the new housekeeper arrives...

It is a film about human relations, hope and second chances, but most importantly about trust, love, and inner strength.

Maggie Smith, Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patrick Swayze and the rest of the cast, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least!All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt one that can be watched over and over.

The setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor, and the music are all wonderful!

In short, Keeping Mum is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection!

Posted on August 3, 2011

Kellee Gonzale says...

The Goodfellow family needs more than just a housekeeper.They need a miracle.



What they got was Grace.



When Grace (Maggie Smith) arrives, she finds Gloria (Scott Thomas) somewhere between an affair and going crazy. Golf Pro Lance (Swayze) is encouraging her to swing more than a club.Clarence, the little dog next door has been yelling nonstop for days and the deaf old man who owns him, can't hear and doesn't seem to care.Walter (Atkinson) her vicar husband, has forgotten there's romance in the "Bible" and he's so lost in his tending his congregation, he's even lost his sense of humor. Teenaged Polly (Egerton) is experimenting with sex--and not for the first time. Peter (Parkes) is getting beaten up by the school bullies.



Grace quickly sets to work setting things to rights.On the surface, she's quite an endearing old lady who soothes with a cup of tea and a magic word, but her methods run far deeper than that--just don't look in the nearby pond!



If you love British comedy, particularly the darker varieties thereof, you're going to enjoy "Keeping Mum."There's more than one surprise twist. Of particular interest is a golf lesson between Lance and Gloria just filled with double entendre.

Posted on August 3, 2011

Vallie Bartoli says...

I have been waiting for another British comedy to come out all year. KEEPING MUM fits that bill. It is funny, I mean very funny. The cast is outstanding. Rowan Atkinson and Maggie Smith are hilarious but the whole cast really delivers some of their best work in this film. The location photography is beautiful. The English countryside really sets the stage for this nice little film where the characters all come together and their personalities, strengths and weaknesses lead them to realizations about the true aspirations of their lives.

Posted on August 4, 2011

Brad Egloff says...

Although she's had a long and wonderful career, I'm guessing that most Americans will recognize Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagal from the "Harry Potter" films.A few may recall her time in films like "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and the "Sister Act" films.Heck, if you go back as far as I do, you might remember her from "Clash of the Titans."It's no matter, because she is simply hilarious and twisted in "Keeping Mum," where she plays a loving housekeeper with a very effective and final way of cleaning things up.The film begins with a little bit of background on Smith's character and then hurtles forty-three years into modern times where we get to meet the Goodfellow family.The head of the family is Reverend Walter Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson), a well-meaning but ultimately dull and clueless vicar of the local church in Little Wallop.His wife, Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas), is in search of a little more "action" in her life.His daughter, Holly (Tamsin Egerton), is something of a slut and his son, Petey (Toby Parkes) is constantly harassed at school by bullies.



When Grace Hawkins (Smith) strolls into Little Wallop to take a job as the Goodfellow's housekeeper, things begin to oddly change for the better.The vicar is suddenly inspired to write a funny keynote address for an upcoming conference.Holly turns off the oven in the bedroom and discovers the joys of baking.Petey becomes unafraid of his cruel schoolmates.The only person still somewhat unaffected by the arrival of Grace is Gloria, although she does begin to sleep through the night with more ease due to some devious acts.



Gloria is still seeking out that "something" that's missing from her relationship with her husband.She thinks she finds it blossoming in a secret relationship with her American golf instructor, Lance.Lance is played to sleazy perfection by Patrick Swayze.As Grace becomes more involved with Gloria's predicament, things get devilishly fun.From lewd phone calls to video cameras, Grace has her hands full trying to save the Goodfellows' marriage.



Atkinson is perhaps most familiar to U.S. audiences as the bungling "Mr. Bean" or the devious "Black Adder."Both were often featured on PBS and "Mr. Bean" was turned into a mildly successful theatrical release in America.Atkinson was also the voice of "Zazoo" in "The Lion King," as well as having bit roles in a number of other American comedies.Thomas has been in a few films here in the U.S., but they escape my memory right now.Swayze, of course, is Swayze.If you grew up in the U.S. during the 80's or even 90's, you know who he is.All of the cast do a wonderful job.



There is a bit of strong language, especially from the mouth of Thomas.There's also a tad bit of toplessness from Holly and some sexuality (though no nudity) involving Thomas and Swayze and even Thomas and Atkinson (Mr. Bean scores!).There's also a few moments where a sweet old lady whacks a few people, so the "R" rating is necessary.Don't let your kids watch this film.Other than that, this is a great dark comedy for folks of the suggested viewing age.



Although you'll often shake your head and declare that you shouldn't laugh, it's just too hard not to as Smith carries out her quiet, lethal plans to clean up the mess that is the Goodfellow family.She has good reason to as well, but even though it's pretty obvious from the start of the film, I won't reveal why.Her nanny-like precision of making sure things turn out right make for a hilarious film, and I really recommend that fans of Smith, Atkinson, or anyone else in the flick should check this movie out.



Highly recommended.

Posted on August 8, 2011

Terrie Stach says...

I absolutely adored this rather understated and very engaging British film.Everything was just so fun considering it's about a sweet little elderly lady who applies a slightly twisted sense of morality to help a family with domestic problems.The family is a bit of a mess. Kristin Scott Thomas is the backbone of the story.She's frustrated with her life, her daughter is a bit of wayward teenager, her son is being bullied and her husband played by Rowan Atkinson is a little boring and a little self-absorbed.In comes Maggie Smith who plays Grace Hawkins a grandmotherly type who exudes understanding and warmth with her own special brand of helpfulness.But then again, the way she deals with life's problems is questionable although effective - "You can't just kill people because you disapprove of them" to which Grace replies, "That's what my doctors kept saying. It was the one thing we could never agree on."



Everything from the dream cast to the clever writing to the charming music sets an overall tone of gentleness with a hint of the sinister.I particularly enjoyed the music and the locations.The music is soft and tender but at times, it also has an edge - exactly like the story.The film is beautifully shot with locations in Cornwall and the Isle of Man.I really liked the village - its normal and sweet setting is a perfect backdrop to Grace's not normal but still sweet mentality.



Black comedy is a tricky genre of film and the British do it well.If it's handled with too heavy a hand it can teeter between the uncomfortable and the painful.Here, the director, writers and actors handled it with just enough of a touch that this film is brilliantly endearing and you just can't help laughing at something you really shouldn't be laughing at.

Posted on August 8, 2011

Robert Biscari says...

I have to agree wholeheartedly with the previous reviewer, so this is essentially a 'ditto' comment.The actors were the draw for me to see this movie, all having excellent reputations.Unfortunately I had to go to another state to see it, raved about it to friends and co-workers, and then it was gone within a week!Too bad, people missed a good thing.



Since my only knowledge of Rowan Atkinson was through his TV series, "Thin Blue Line," and "Blackadder," I was surprised and intrigued to see the depth he gave his character, the beleagured, bewildered, and somewhat otherworldly husband. Loved Maggie Smith as Grace and Kristin Scott Thomas as the edgy wife.Patrick Swayze is a hoot as a sleazey golf pro.

Posted on August 10, 2011

Maragaret Armengol says...

British comedies about murderous old people snuffing out the unwitting or the deserving are legion. My first experience was the play "Arsenic & Old Lace." That black comedy returns in a fairly funny script bolstered by great performances in Keeping Mum.



Smith plays new housekeeper Grace Hawkins, an evil Mary Poppins type who silences noisy animals the hard way and punishes the bullies of one of her charges, Petey, with judicious snips of important wires. The family enjoys her excellent advice and the sudden absence of annoyances in their lives. Atkinson plays an overly serious vicar who gets a chance to show off his acting skills as a kind man of God, but also fumbling as a not-too-cool or sexually vivacious husband. Scott Thomas is his dissastified wife on the verge of infidelity with an American golf instructor (Swayze). Son Petey is mostly incidental, but daughter Holly's issue is nymphomania and too many boyfriends.



The heads roll as the comedy rolls on, but so do doses of pleasant humor and plenty of ways to sympathize with the odd Grace Hawkins, who may be crazy but also seems to love her newfound home and its inhabitants.



This is nothing new, but it's old hat that will appeal to comedy fans. It's not completely family friendly, though. There's almost no grisly, despite the fact that deaths rack up, but there is some frontal nudity of the older daughter. And it may end sweetly, but the moral of the story is a bit twisted in this twisted family home.



-- Brendan Howard

Posted on August 14, 2011