The Remains of the Day

Plot synopsis:
In 1950s England, Mr Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), the butler of Darlington Hall, receives a letter from Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), who worked with him as housekeeper during the years prior to the Second World War. Twenty years later, Lord Darlington (James Fox) has died and his stately country manor has been sold to a retired American Congressman, Mr. Lewis (Christopher Reeve). Kenton reveals that her marriage has failed and that she is nostalgic for the days when she worked at the house. Stevens (now one of the few remaining servants from the Darlington era) goes to visit Miss Kenton, ostensibly to persuade her to return to service.The film flashes back to Kenton's arrival as housekeeper. At the time, Darlington Hall was frequented by many politicians of the interwar period, men who decided important affairs of state while there. Stevens, loyal and perfectionistic, calm and efficient, had to manage the household so that the servants seemed almost invisible, and he took great pride in his skills and his profession. He clashed with Miss Kenton, his equal in the household hierarchy, but displayed only understated irritation with her and others. Indeed, his utter focus and emotional repression were most fully displayed when his own father, also an employee, was dying; Stevens continued his duties without pause.Miss Kenton was equally efficient and strong-willed but warmer and less repressed. Relations between the two eventually warmed and Kenton even teased Stevens. It becomes clear that she had fallen in love with him, and perhaps he with her, though his feelings are left ambiguous. She tried to break through the wall, but Stevens' coldness was too formidable. Finally, she struck up a relationship with another man and married him, leaving the house just before the outbreak of World War II. Before her departure, she insulted Stevens, clearly out of distress that he had never expressed any emotional interest in her, but he still refused to be moved. When she cried in frustration, the only response he could muster was to call her attention to a domestic task.Lord Darlington used his influence to broker the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany. He irritated Congressman Lewis, one of the dignitaries at a conference, who argued in favour of the foreign policy being conducted by "professionals" rather than by "gentlemen amateurs". After reading the work of Houston Stewart Chamberlain, Lord Darlington commanded that two German-Jewish maids should be dismissed, considering their employment inappropriate. Stevens carried out the order but Miss Kenton almost resigned in protest, fearing that the girls would have to return to Germany; her own need for employment caused her to avoid following through. Darlington later regretted his decision and asked Stevens to reinstate the maids, but they could not be located.Darlington died a broken man, his reputation destroyed after he had been denounced a traitor in the Daily Mail. When asked about his former employer, Stevens at first denies having served or even met him but later admits to having served him. He recognises his former master's failings and indicates that he has regrets about his own life, as does Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn). However, Kenton declines Stevens' offer to return to Darlington Hall, announcing instead that she wants to remain with her husband, since their daughter is soon to present them with a grandchild. After the meeting, Stevens departs for Darlington Hall in a downpour of rain. Kenton cries, while Stevens, still unable to demonstrate any feeling, simply raises his hat.The film's final scene shows Stevens making the final preparations to Darlington Hall in preparation for the arrival of Congressman Lewis' family. As the two men enter the banquet hall, where a table tennis table now lies, Congressman Lewis reflects on the banquet that he attended in this room in 1935 and admits embarrassment over his comments. He asks Stevens if he remembers the comments, to which Stevens replies that he was too busy serving. Symbolically, a pigeon then flies into the room through the fireplace and becomes trapped in the hall. The two men eventually coax it out a window and it flees to freedom, leaving Stevens and Darlington Hall behind.In this movie appears Wolf Kahler who will later play Ludendorff, chemist and Fritz Shimon Haber's close friend in Haber.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Director James Ivory adapt Kazuo Ishiguro's poignant novel with such delicacy that it gets under ones skin in a deeply profound way difficult to express in a few words.The plot opens in the 1950's as meticulous and emotionally repressed butler Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) reviews a lifetime of service in Darlington Hall.
Excellent film that was overlooked in 1993 due to the dominance of "Schindler's List", "The Remains of the Day" is an exquisite film which examines the relationship between two servants in England (Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, both Oscar-nominated).
During the present-day of the movie it appears that Hopkins and Thompson will finally proclaim their love for one another, but in the end that is not even a real certainty.
But there is just enough humility to this sad tale of unrequited love to make it completely believable.Anthony Hopkins excels as the impenetrable Mr. Stevens, Butler of a lordly country house in the final days of the British Empire, and Emma Thompson is superb as his foil, Housekeeper Miss Kenton.
I am disappointed to see reviewers refer to this movie as anti-war or a story of unrequited love or Lord Darlington as a Nazi or WWII as a nuclear holocaust.
It is a movie that has great acting, is beautifully filmed in and around one of England's great mansions, and tells a fascinating and complex story as well.It is true that the movie is about, in part, what many in the audience would believe is a romance that never has a chance because of Mr. Stevens' devotion to and pride in the occupation he has chosen.
The film does a wonderful parallel examination of the man's life set against the tumult of the 1930s that effectively did away with the British Empire and made him and others like him, as people curiously obsolete.An extremely rare example of sanity when dealing with the subject of War. Most films as we know too well, concentrate on the futility and bottom line cost in humanity, which is to be expected since generally speaking, an artist will always present this point of view.
On the way his memory slowly flows back to him (and he also realises that his formal master was not an impeccable man after all)...when Mr Stevens and Miss Kenton bid farewell again, she looks into his eyes while her tears roll down her cheeks...a very sad scene.'The Remains of the Day' is about love that is never obtained...love that is never verbally expressed...love of which you finally has to let go...having read the book (which is finely written), I realise that this film is a wonderfully successful adaptation.
Impeccably cast and produced in typical Merchant-Ivory manner, this understated drama features superb performances by two of the finest actors in modern cinema, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
This movie is James Ivory's best, and one of Anthony Hopkins' and Emma Thompson's better films.Did you ever care to know what British upper class life was like in past centuries for both nobility and gentry (their servants?)  This show humanizes life for them all, revealing their common foibles and their collective challenges.
On the other hand, we are given Anthony Hopkins, a well-meaning but horribly under-informed man, who, by an accident of birth, makes mistakes in his personal life that eventually lead him to regret.The juxtaposition of the two characters allow the viewer to consider the nature of both official and personal decisions - that good nature and a desire to serve a perception of 'what is right' can lead honorable people to despair.This complex and demanding subject was handled superbly by James Ivory, (the director) and his actors.
But when the new housekeeper falls in love with him and he can't show his feelings and when his master starts close relations with Nazi sympathizers, he finds it more and more difficult to do his job in the most perfect way...If someone had told me before watching this movie that I would love it, I would never have believed him or her, thinking that they were exaggerating.
I guess it was the obvious contradiction between what he wanted to do and what he was supposed to do and the constant tension in his relationship with Miss Kenton, that kept me interested.Another reason why I liked this movie so much is the excellent acting.
The Remains Of The Day is a masterly,superbly crafted film,and this is coming from someone who generally dislikes the 'Merchant Ivory' school of British 'heritage cinema',which usually looks pretty but lacks any real emotion,depth or understanding.
With this film,this approach is the perfect one,centering as it does around a man who gives his entire life to service in a great house as head Butler.As expected,the film moves at a very slow pace,but it is quite fascinating right from the start,detailing the workings of 'Darlington Hall' in minute detail.
However,it is also a very Frustrating film,because Antony Hopkin's character is so rigid,so seemingly devoid of emotion,so steadfast in his refusal to do anything that might alter and better his life,that one feels like giving him a slap and shouting to him "sort yourself out!".For example,when his father dies,he simply carries on with his duties.
Both are first class at expressing a vast range of emotions, and Hopkin's refinement and awkwardness is a joy to watch.James Ivory's direction is excellent, the camera is often close in on the characters which emphasises the awkwardness felt by Stevens.
There is good mix of smooth camera work and some hand held moments which keep the film fresh and moving, not to mention a few great wide shots, look out for the beautiful shot of the English countryside during sunset when stevens' car runs out of petrol.
The excellent cinematography is used to its most effective in a scene when Miss Kenton is in distress and stevens enters the room , Hopkins remains off camera and all that can be seen is Thompson's face with an opened door on the left hand side of the screen.
To make true generalizations about anything, in this case life itself, you must particularize--whatever the medium.And so it is that a story which is particularly that of an English butler who has either consciously suppressed his love or unconsciously repressed it--or maybe both--gives us the details of emotion and behavior that we recognize as truthful generalizations that are actually reflective of the details of our own individual lives.
And now it seems to me--now that I have just seen this film--that I face the remains of my own day, but I still find myself hoping it is not too late.Anthony Hopkins has given a performance that is aesthetically perfect and emotionally profound--his acting has touched me as I am sure it has touched many others.
What defines this trip, in his world an odyssey, is the scenes of the past that connect the present, the moments in his life at Darlington Hall that he's truly chosen to remember, which use Lord Darlington's playing host to the world's preeminent officials as a context, in which it seems periodically like hope for Britain is being determined.Bit by bit we start to become conscious that things were not as they seemed, that Darlington was not as judicious as he thought, that Stevens, in one of Anthony Hopkins; many sterling lead performances, was blind to the truth surrounding him.
An loyal butler (Oscar-Winner:Anthony Hopkins) thinks about the life, he had with his previous master Lord Darlington (James Fox) and the romance, he could have had with the housekeeper (Oscar-Winner:Emma Thompson) in the post World War 2.
But his previous master challenge him to a maintained servitude, since his master was an Nazi Sympathizer.Directed by James Ivory (Howards End, Jefferson in Paris, Surviving Picasso) made an fascinating period drama with great performance and unusual story of forbidden romance.
Perhaps it because of the reticence of Anthony Hopkins, the Head Butler, to ever reveal his feelings.The movie which is for the most part a period piece of the years before WWII, interestingly and accurately depicts how some of the upper class English were naive and willing to appease the Germans but the main plot was the relationship of the Head Butler with others under his supervision, and in particular with the Head of the Household.
Also, since the book is a first-person account, and the film (very wisely) does without first-person narration altogether, the emphasis has changed ever so slightly, but Ishiguro's material is good enough to stand being looked at more than one way.Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant are accused of having a narrow range; the accusation may even be correct (as I think it is in the case of Hopkins).
Other films come and go from my top 5, but RotD has been in my top 2 since the first time I saw it more than 20 years ago (1 and 2 switch about).Anthony Hopkins' performance is, in my opinion, the best piece of acting I've ever seen.
In fact there is not a bum note in the whole thing - performance, story, authenticity, emotions, realism.The rest of the cast are almost as perfect; from the ******** posh idiots (the scene where they 'prove' that politics is beyond the wit of the common man is awful but brilliant) and the famous faces; Emma Thompson (I'm more than a little in love with her here), Hugh Grant (funny, sharp-minded and charming), Edward Fox (the benchmark for posh but well meaning and so easily led due to basic morality), Peter Vaughn (dying old man, again!), Lena Headey (so different from Game of Thrones), Christopher Reeve (always great to see him doing more than Superman and sad to remember who he was before the accident).
The Pigeon at the End. After several years I watched again The Remains of the Day, the movie made in 1993 by James Ivory.
It is the beginning of the thirties, the master of the place is actually a sympathizer of Nazi Germany, advocating for them, while his butler is simply too loyal, too committed to his work, to make a judgment.Based on the novel, James Ivory made a movie that is exquisite.
Catching up on several older Anthony Hopkins films, who would have thought this story about an English butler, his master being a major player in appeasement of Adolf Hitler, his love life unfulfilled, would be a thoroughly engrossing two hours.
The best scene of "Remains Of The Day" comes near the end, when Stevens enters the room of a sobbing Emma Thompson.
Yet, to say that the film is plot-less would be as unfair as untrue: another successful product of the director and producer's duo: James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, the film offers another riveting slice of the British aristocratic life, this time during the inter-war, this time for a story even more enthralling because it is told from the servants' perspective, from the diary of William Stevens, the butler.As Stevens, Anthony Hopkins delivers such a solid performance, in all nuance and subtlety, that we can't doubt the man has been or could have been anything but a butler, obviously belonging to a tradition as old as the hills and whose William Stevens Sr.
We know, when the movie opens that Stevens still work in the same manor, that his Master Lord Darlington died, and an American Congressman, played by Christopher Reeve, bought the house.
As a character study, the film is a wonderful examination of lives made of unmade choices and 'what if' questions, as a romance, it happens to be admirably poignant and brilliant, because feelings are so intimate and real that they can hardly be expressed, let alone from a man of such a few words like Mr Stevens.
Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and unrequited love equals a truly wondrous film.
If you want an impeccably acted, beautifully filmed and an altogether poignant study on unrequited love, watch "The Remains of the Day".
Anthony Hopkins is simply mesmerising as Stevens, the emotionally repressed butler with an unwavering sense of duty who embarks on an intense relationship with the housekeeper Miss Kenton.
'The Remains of the Day' is an engaging period-drama, but, it's the Brilliant Performances by Sir Anthony Hopkins & Emma Thompson, that leave the biggest impact on it's viewer.
Anthony Hopkins plays Mr. Stevens, a man who has given his entire being to his master and who allows himself no thoughts or emotions outside of his duties.
With little time for nobody, including himself, Hopkins' character realizes how he had let his life slip by, and the woman that tried to get to know him and be his friend, Emma Thompson.
Through his eyes we see the what took place in the hall over the last 25 or so years, including the lead-up to World War 2, Stevens' undying devotion to his job and master and his relationship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton.Wonderfully engaging, interesting and moving movie.
Anthony Hopkins is superb as Stevens, capturing well the robot-like blinkeredness of a butler who believes duty, dedication and dignity are everything, at the expense of feelings and expression.Around Stevens are spun a few other stories, making the movie quite multi-faceted.
It also provides some great "what if?" moments.Nominated for eight Oscars in 1994, including Best Film, Best Director for James Ivory, Best Leading Actor for Anthony Hopkins and Best Leading Actress for Emma Thompson, unfortunately The Remains Of The Day did not win in any category..
Perhaps you could say that about Remains of the Day but the performances are so good and the cinematography so stunning I have no problem overlooking the deficiencies.Hopkins and Thompson are both at the top of their games in this movie.
It tells the story about a butler named James Stevens who whilst executing his profession with the utmost dignity at a large mansion called Darlington Hall for the Lord of Darlington, hires a housekeeper named Sarah Kenton.Subtly and precisely directed by British filmmaker James Ivory, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from the two main characters viewpoints, draws a heartrending portrayal of a middle-aged man who is courted by a compassionate woman whom he keeps at distance by remaining utterly professional whenever they interact.
This somewhat political, oppressively romantic and conversational period drama which is set on a country estate in post-war England during the 1930s and 1940s where a woman tries to reach into the feelings of a man whom is completely dedicated to his work and where human emotions are disguised by manners, is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity and understated and memorable acting performances by Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins and English actress Emma Thompson.
If you like a very well acted film, which gives a great deal of time to think over what is really going on, Politics, Romance that is not followed up with or a person who cannot show any emotional feelings, enjoy this film..
As usual, Merchant and Ivory give us a cinematic gem with "The Remains of the Day." The film actually goes back and forth in time between the eve of the Second World War and the late 1950s.
The Butler (Anthony Hopkins is truly a tragic figure who because of pride and upbringing cannot get himself to express his true feelings toward Miss Clinton(Emma Thompson).What maybe even more tragic he cannot tell his own father as his father is dying that he loves him.
As I turned the lights up in our TV room, my wife and I looked at each other and both said, "What was THAT??" In this case "that" was "The Remains of the Day," a story about a butler who has the range of emotions of Chance the Gardener in "Being There," and the personality of drying paint.Playing this role was a tough assignment, but give credit to Anthony Hopkins for pulling it off.
It is a sumptuous and subtle character piece of a butler Mr Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) who devoted his life to duty and service.
Mr Stevens ended up never having a life of his own and he did not recognise the warm feelings for him from the head housekeeper Sally Kenton (Emma Thompson.)The movie starts in the late 1950s when a former American politician Trent Lewis (Christopher Reeve) becomes the new owner of Darlington Hall, a place he visited in the 1930s for a conference and instantly fell in love with.Lord Darlington (James Fox) the former owner is portrayed as a well meaning but naive man who got taken in by Nazi sympathizers.
it is the film of Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins..
The main character is Mr. James Stevens (Hopkins), the devoted butler of Darlington Hall in England, the film starts in 1950s, when Darlington Hall has been acquired by a retired USA Congressman Mr. Lewis (Reeve), and Stevens takes his days off to visit an old friend, the former housekeeper of the manor, Miss Kenton (Thompson), who left twenty years ago to get married, but currently is single and seems to be very willing to resume her old post.
A butler (Anthony Hopkins) who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years post World War I realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been.This is a very interesting film.
I thought this was a fascinating film, thanks to strong direction by James Ivory and great performances by Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
Giving career high performances Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson reunite in "Remains Of The Day" based on a novel of the same name, by the British author Kazuo Ishiguro.
It is centred in an English country house just before and after the Second World War, Plot In A Paragraph: The film is the story of 2 loyal servants - Mr. Stevens (Hopkins), the butler, and Miss Kenton (Thompson), the housekeeper - at Darlington Hall in pre World War II England.