COLD COMFORT FARM
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 5/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:44 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Sexual situations) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Eileen Atkins, Rufus Sewell, Ivan Kaye, Ian McKellan, Freddie Jones, Maria Miles, Joanna Lumley, Christopher Bowen, Stephen Fry, Sheila Burrell Director: John Schlesinger Screenplay: Malcolm Bradbury based on the novel by Stella Gibbons Cinematography: Chris Seager Music: Robert Lockhart U.S. Distributor: Gramercy Pictures
Over the last several years, director John Schlesinger, who once released fabulous films like MIDNIGHT COWBOY and SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY, has developed an unfortunate tendency to make movies that border on unwatchable (PACIFIC HEIGHTS, EYE FOR AND EYE). With COLD COMFORT FARM, a feature originally produced for British TV, Schlesinger has chosen a lighter, less demanding story that results in one of his most successful productions in recent memory. There's nothing deep or meaningful to be unearthed in this feel-good comedy, but it nevertheless makes for solid entertainment.
Using an almost-apologetically gentle satire, COLD COMFORT FARM parodies Merchant-Ivory films and their ilk. Transpiring in the 1920s, the movie takes us to the dilapidated rural estate of Cold Comfort Farm, where recently-orphaned Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale) has come to stay with distant relatives. In some way, the Starkadders, who inhabit Cold Comfort, owe a debt to her father, but, while no one will say what it is, they agree to give her free room and board. For her part, Flora intends to organize the untidy farm, as well as the lives of everyone who call it home.
The residents of Cold Comfort Farm are a strange lot. There's Judith Starkadder (Eileen Atkins), a middle-aged widow who continually prophesies disaster for her family. There are her sons, Seth (Rufus Sewell), who loves movies, and Reuben (Ivan Kaye), who loves farming. Judith's brother, Amos (Ian McKellan), is a fire-and-brimstone preacher. Her mother, Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), the Cold Comfort matriarch, remains locked in her room. Also living in the house are Elfine (Maria Miles), a beautiful-but-flighty young woman who wants to marry a member of the gentry, and Adamsbreath (Freddie Jones), the family's faithful retainer.
With comic efficiency, Flora sets to work giving each member of the Starkadder clan what they want. There are no real characters here -- each member of the cast plays a certain period piece type to good effect. We sympathize with the men and women of Cold Comfort Farm largely because of strong performances, not because they're written with any depth or breadth. As is often true of satire, the people don't matter as much as the situations they're placed in.
COLD COMFORT FARM is not a vicious lampoon. The script cares about its characters and doesn't want to distance the audience. Some of the best satire comes near the end, while the various subplots are reaching happy conclusions. Schlesinger uses "Tara's Theme" from GONE WITH THE WIND to put the hilarious punctuation on a very funny scene. This sequence, the movie's comic highlight, had me nearly doubled over with laughter.
Kate Beckinsale, who made her movie debut as Hero in Kenneth Branagh's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, sparkles as Flora, bringing life and energy to this one-dimensional ersatz Jane Austen heroine. The supporting performers are all good, with special mention going to Ian McKellan. Here, acting the part of a preacher who speaks of nothing but hellfire and damnation, McKellan is both mesmerizing and undeniably funny.
With its comic refrains, takeoffs on Hollywood happy endings and stuffy British storylines, and feather-light tone, COLD COMFORT FARM is an excellent source of late spring entertainment. As was true of 1992's ENCHANTED APRIL, this is the kind of movie that offers a vacation from the seriousness of reality and other, more "important" motion pictures. There may not be intellectual enrichment forthcoming, but there's undeniable pleasure to be gained from watching Flora bring warmth to COLD COMFORT FARM.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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