Sweet Revenge (1998)

Clever punchy British black comedy

Taking a cue from American ex-pat Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, playwright Alan Ayckbourn penned the plays on which Sweet Revenge was based, in whith two strangers each agree to bump off the person causing him/her the most misery in their respective lives.

Of course Ayckbourn can't duplicate what Highsmith had already brilliantly done, so he starts things off with both parties being suicidal (definitely NOT part of the Highsmith story), then moves in very different directions from Highsmith indeed.

Malcolm Mowbray, the talented director of this movie, (he also directed another punchy black comedy, but set in the States, Out Cold--with Teri Garr, John Lithgow and Randy Quaid--highly recommended), has done a great job deftly blending wry British humor with black comedy (very black, indeed) as well as romantic highjinks and some outright guffaws.

When you see sparrows blithely flying around a living room, part of a huge mansion in which the younger son rides his motor scooter on a regular basis and the older sister (one of the two parties involved in the revenge pact) changes her appearance in the blink of an artistocratic eye, you can tell there's a lot of fun to be had.

And there is. Highsmith's story has no comedy whatsoever, but Ayckbourn is a master of this mesh of comedy and biting stuff, and that comes across beautifully in this film version. The acting by the three leads (Sam Neill, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Helena Bonham Carter) is great, with the definite nod for scene stealer going to Ms. Carter, who seems capable of doing basically anything in front of a camera (see Fight Club and Twelfth Night for radically different and consistently excellent performances).

A very nice piece of work. Recommended! July 17, 2008

An oh-so-black comedy

I purchased this because of the rave reviews on Amazon and because I loved Aykbourn's brilliant The Norman Conquests. But this film, while it has its moments, is a studiously black comedy that doesn't come off. It works too hard at being completely off the wall, and ultimately disappoints. It's just mayhem, designed to draw laughs. Well, it does, but only occasionally. (Imagine playing Count Basie at the expiration of a villain. That's Mel Brooks country.) Yes, Helena Bonham Carter is an excellent actress. But it's all so contrived, complete with a wink at the camera at the end. Save your money. May 4, 2007

Strangers on a Bridge

As the story begins, Henry (Sam Neill) has lost his job to an unscrupulous co-worker, and has decided to end it all by jumping off Tower Bridge. There he meets eccentric Karen (Helena Bonham Carter) who has just bungled her own suicide attempt (her lover went back to his wife). They start talking about how much they wish their enemies were dead and Karen gleefully suggests they each do the job for the other. Henry assumes she's kidding, of course, but the next morning he finds Karen has gone ahead with the plan.

If you think this plot sounds a lot like Hitchcock's thriller, "Strangers on a Train," you're right. The difference is this one's played for big laughs with dark humor that I really enjoyed. Neill is very good as the innocent man who gets caught up in the wacky plot hatched by Bonham Carter's character. She steals the show with her outrageous cheekiness. Kristin Scott Thomas is the lover's haughty wife, and no one plays the disdainful aristocrat better than she does. Comic actor Steve Coogan is hysterical as Henry's nemesis. If you like British comedies, you'll love "Sweet Revenge;" it's fast, funny, and loaded with droll upper-class humor. Excellent!

Kona December 2, 2005

Some great moments, but ultimately lacking cohesion

I generally enjoy British comedies and prefer a good, thoughtful snicker over slapstick fun. When I watched this, I wanted to like it. And when I read the reviews after watching it, I'm really trying to like it. But I can't entirely agree with the other reviews...not because they're wrong, just my taste differs.

I feel like the movie had so many great elements (including as others have said some excellent acting) and could have been truly hilarious, but it just went a little off kilter somewhere and couldn't quite stay on track. Just as you warmed up to one element, something else would spoil the moment.

My initial reaction was "what a crazy movie!" Karen appears to be a complete maniac and Henry is extremely slow to catch on in some ways (i.e., he realizes Karen is quite dangerous from the start but doesn't seem to have any other way of dealing with her than really unitelligent honesty). The brother Oliver is great and there are a lot of small scenes that the film does quite well (when the kippers cause an embarassing stain, the way the young maid Norma is treated, etc).

But I disagree that Imogen was affected and arrogant. She responded to the view of Karen (her husband's former mistress) with the cold fury of someone attempting to maintain composure in the face of great strain. If a spouse brought me to an outing with their former "lover", I'd be pretty mad too. Her first comment to Henry is indicative of her frustration and she says it without thinking.

But how would anyone like Karen or Imogen find Anthony appealing? I found it farfetched how quickly Imogen fell for Henry and vice versa, upon their second meeting he tries to kiss her. And it seems unlikely that someone who suffered from frequent asthma would not carry their ventilator in their pocket (but maybe I am uninformed on this score).

Towards the end, it began lacking a feeling of cohesion and felt more like random funny moments appended to each other. The ending didn't feel like you arrived at a destination, more like it just stopped somewhere when we ran out of time and patched on a quick finish. Anyway, some people liked this so it's definitely got a following, just didn't appeal to me. Maybe it will grow on me in time. May 17, 2005

Perfect!!!

I loved every second of this film. I can't imagine how anyone could not like it. It's funny, full of talented actors esp Sam Neill. Thoroughly entertaining!! A great buy. June 2, 2003

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