The Dresser (1983)

[Mr. Arkadin]

Any fans of this? I've never seen it, but I'm a big fan of Tom Courtenay and recording it for that reason alone. If anybody has some input, don't be shy.

[MikeBSG]

I saw this movie back in 1983 or 1984. It did nothing for me.

However, that night lives on in my memory because of one of the most spectacular acts of rudeness in a movie theater that I experienced.

There were only a handful of people watching this movie. When it ended, an elderly man said, loud enough for everyone in the audience to hear: "My wife keeps dragging me to weird movies like this!"

[moira finnie]

You might want to see this one, Arkadin.

The Dresser, based on the real life experiences of author Ronald Harwood as the assistant to the querulous Donald Wolfit, (The Long Voyage Home, The Wrong Box, Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, among other films) while touring in the '50s with his ramshackle Shakespearean repertory company, is one of those movies that, while funny and sad, simultaneously, offers viewers a chance to see an unglamorous slice of backstage life, and some terrific acting turns by Albert Finney & Tom Courtenay.

Courtenay, who has quietly been giving brilliant performances since The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner fifty years ago, is funny and bitchy as the impossible Finney character's dresser. Tom Courtenay has one particularly devastating scene in which the barrenness of his character's emotional life is revealed quite suddenly. Finney, saddled with a pretty unlikable character, made me like him and feel a certain amount of respect for the actor he was playing--though I didn't have the empathetic feeling for him that I think the filmmakers wanted to convey to the viewer. You see, despite the fact that Finney plays a wandering player, nobly trying to bring the classics to the British hinterlands during WWII, he is never fully given his due by the theatrical establishment for a couple of reasons: he was an outrageous ham in many respects, and the few glimpses that we have of his personality are fairly repellent, (though often funny too).

If you're an Anglophile and love "backstage in the theatre" movies (à la All About Eve, A Double Life, An Awfully Big Adventure, or Curtain Up), and have an abiding affection for Courtenay as well as Finney, you might like it. BTW, if you ever have a chance, check out A Rather English Marriage (1998), a made for tv drama in which both men are brilliant.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Hi Moira, I did record it and watched till I flew off to sleepyland.

Courtenay never fails to impress me whether he's playing a prisoner (King Rat [1965], One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich [1970]) or well off undertaker (Last Orders [2001]). I'm always amazed at his wide range and believeability in roles. He's also a player who knows the values of dynamics and intensity. A great actor everyone should be more aware of.

[cascabel]

I like this exhausting movie so much. It's a thrill to see the actors, after all the intense backstage drama, pull themselves together in time to quietly troop downstairs to the stage. I love the storm-making scene where everyone's working his heart out, and then the real storm afterwards, when Finney's character refuses to be grateful. The alternating professionalism and hysteria is fun to watch for an hour or so. The idea of people putting up with that in real life for decades is staggering. Finney and Courtenay are brilliant. Eileen Atkins and Edward Fox are terrific, too.

Hello, by the way. I love your beautiful site and don't want to disturb it. I'm trying to get caught up on all the information here. I just wanted to say how much I admire THE DRESSER. Now I'll go back to reading.

[moira finnie]

Welcome Cascabel! I don't think that you're disturbing this site, but hope that you're moved to engage in more discussions in the future. You're most welcome. I think you put it perfectly by describing the atmosphere of The Dresser as 'exhausting'. The devotion of those who pivoted around the prickly character played by Albert Finney was remarkable. The catharsis that comes when Tom Courtenay's character can finally stop trying to appease him really does seem to come from the character's soul at that point in the story.

I'm so glad that you mentioned the sterling work from splendid Eileen Atkins & the vastly underrated Edward Fox as well. I think I'm going to have to view this film again!

Here's a link to the memorable storm scene in The Dresser (1983)

[Mr. Arkadin]

Hi Cascabel. Welcome! Thank you for the insight into the film, I really appreciate it.

[cascabel]

moirafinnie, Mr.Arkadin--Thank you. You're very kind.