Housewife, 49 (2006)

"Rich in detail, brilliantly acted" —Daily Express (U.K.)

In wartime, an ordinary woman finds new courage

As the world fights for freedom in WWII, one woman struggles to liberate herself

Soon after England declared war on Germany in 1939, Lancashire housewife Nella Last began writing a diary as part of a public project. She was 49 and fearful that she wouldn’t be able to cope with her son’s enlistment and life alone with her domineering husband. This award-winning drama not only recounts her experience of wartime privations, but also her dawning sense of independence. Amid the hardships of food rations and air raids, Nella’s volunteer work for the war effort fills her with an exhilarating sense of purpose.

Written by and starring beloved British performer Victoria Wood, Housewife, 49 presents a moving glimpse into life on the home front through the eyes of a resolute woman gradually awakening to life.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE insert with background on the U.K.’s Mass-Observation project, text interview with Victoria Wood, and cast filmographies.

Moving and informative

This drama is based on the diary of Nella Last, a Lancashire housewife who wrote for the Mass Observation survey, a social studies unit which still exists to this day with the aim of recording the daily lives of British citizens. At this time in history the project was new and advertised for candidates in the British Press, This is were the drama begins, with Nella wondering if the advert might of interest or use to her. Victoria Wood stars as Nella and is also the script writer for this drama. Better known in the UK for her compelling, sharpely observed, comedy, Wood clearly demonstrates her abilty to convey the complexity of historical life in both her writing and acting here (much as British audiences have seen in her focus on modern life in her varied comedy enterprises such as "As Seen on TV" and "Dinnerladies").
Nella Last is drifting at the start of the War, unhappy, roleless, with hints that Mental Breakdown have been part of her past and that she is confined by a stayed, emotionless marriage. The War changes her life in terms of giving her a means to express her emotional world in her writing, alongside finding a role as a volunteer in the WVS (Women's Voluntary Service, which has since become the Women's Royal Voluntary Service as a result of it's sterling WW2 work). The drama beautifully explores so many complexities of Nella's life, British social life in the 30's -40's and the massive amounts of change brought to so many lives as a result of WW2, particualrly the lives of Women. Of particular note in terms of the developing drama and human interest in the story are Nella's friendship with the WVS leader and the struggle Nella and she have to reconcile a genuine warmth and respect for each other alongside their differing class backgrounds and the power based struggles these divisions would normally dictate. Then there is the highly poignant and changing relationship she has with her son Cliff, a tender, loving relationship which becomes tainted by grief, loss, misunderstanding and the growing distance the war places between them. Excellent stuff and a real, gritty and honest exploration of the every day burden and far reaching effects of War on ordinary lives. December 28, 2007

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