Keep the Aspidistra Flying (film)

1997 British film
  • Richard E. Grant
  • Helena Bonham Carter
CinematographyGiles NuttgensEdited byBill WrightMusic byMike Batt
Production
companies
BBC Films
First Independent Films
Distributed byFirst Independent Films[1]
Release date
  • 21 November 1997 (1997-11-21)
Running time
101 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishBox office$373,830[2]

Keep the Aspidistra Flying (released in the United States, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe as A Merry War) is a 1997 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Bierman[3] and based on the 1936 novel by George Orwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Plater and was produced by Peter Shaw.[3] The film stars Richard E. Grant and Helena Bonham Carter.

Plot

Gordon Comstock (Grant) is a successful copywriter at a flourishing advertising firm in 1930s London. His girlfriend and co-worker, Rosemary (Bonham Carter), fears he may never settle down with her when he suddenly disavows his money-based lifestyle and quits his job for the artistic satisfaction of writing poetry.

Cast

  • Richard E. Grant as Gordon Comstock
  • Helena Bonham Carter as Rosemary
  • Julian Wadham as Ravelston
  • Jim Carter as Erskine
  • Harriet Walter as Julia Comstock
  • Lesley Vickerage as Hermione
  • Barbara Leigh-Hunt as Mrs. Wisbech (credited as Barbara Leigh Hunt)
  • Liz Smith as Mrs. Meakin
  • Dorothy Atkinson as Dora
  • John Clegg as McKechnie
  • Bill Wallis as Mr Cheeseman
  • Lill Roughley as Mrs Trilling
  • Dorothea Alexander as Old Woman
  • Peter Stockbridge as Old Man
  • Grant Parsons as Beautiful young man
  • Malcolm Sinclair as Paul doring
  • Derek Smee as Lecturer
  • Ben Miles as Waiter
  • Richard Dixon as Head Waiter
  • Eve Ferret as Barmaid

Production

The title Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a pun on the socialist anthem "Keep the Red Flag Flying" but with the aspidistra houseplant instead representing middle-class English respectability.[4]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 69% based on reviews from 29 critics.[5]

Derek Elley of Variety magazine called it a terrific adaptation, and a "constant, often very funny delight to the ears". Elley praised the casting but was critical of the uncinematic direction.[4] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "For me it works not only as a reasonable adaptation of an Orwell novel I like, but also as a form of escapism, since if the truth be known I would be happy as a clerk in a London used-book store. For a time."[6] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade A−.[7]

References

  • iconComedy portal
  • Film portal
  • iconLondon portal
  1. ^ "Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997)". BBFC. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  2. ^ "A Merry War (1998)". The Numbers. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Keep the Aspidistra Flying". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b Elley, Derek (6 October 1997). "Keep the Aspidistra Flying". Variety.
  5. ^ "A Merry War (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger (28 August 1998). "A Merry War". Chicago Sun-Times.
  7. ^ Lisa Schwarzbaum (11 September 1998). "A Merry War". Entertainment Weekly.
  • Keep the Aspidistra Flying at IMDb
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