A new movie to me and a very good one. Connected in my mind with Howard's End because of Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. This movie moves about one generation in time to England in the '30's. Hopkins is the head butler in an english manor. The movie begins with Thompson being hired on as a maid. The interesting piece is that the manor lord is working towards strengthening Germany and is laying the groundwork to appease the growing Nazi movement.
The conflict in Hopkins character is simply put but incredibly difficult to convey. He is so commited to service that he has negated himself in the pursuit of being the perfect butler. The scene where he turns his attention away from his just passed father to have the doctor tend to a French diplomat's blisters is a masterpiece. You can constantly see him want to react only to pull himself back in the name of professionalism.
The balance required here is what sets this performance apart. One of the standards in judging an actor is to ask who else could have done so well with a particular role. Tom Hanks won the '93 Best Actor award, but it doesn't look as good in retrospect. The award was clearly graded on a curve. It was good, but not nearly as exacting as what Hopkins has done here. The other side of the balance is that Thompson was nominated here for Best Actress in what was a fine but not really extraordinary performance.
I was also struck by the similarties between the Nazi collaboraters and George Galloway, recently reelected to the British parliament despite reports of taking bribes from Saddam Hussein. If convicted, he deserves to hang.
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