Fantastic acting by Anne Bancroft in the lead role (and, as usual, fantastic support by James Mason in the far too few scenes in which he appears) but otherwise quite a haul as the central character descends yet again into a trough of misery and depression (once "in Harrods, of all places!") in the course of two hours (which only seem like ten for the viewer). Good job she had such a good nanny to look after the horde of kiddies and wealthy hubbies busily converting old barns and windmills to please her, otherwise things could really have looked bleak! Well up for a Monty Python-style spoof as the years have passed (not least in terms of the HATS which British ladies were still wearing in the mid ("Swinging" (ha!)) Sixties!)(One aspect of Maggie Thatcher's rule which did leave a lasting positive benefit as she killed off such head coverings for good after looking a complete ------- on television while she still wore them). Worth seeing (once) for Bancroft's great acting or to do some social historical research on Britain in the mid-1960s, but you are not going to emerge from watching this one with a smile on your face, I imagine.
Review of The Pumpkin Eater
