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The Summer House

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5.4/10 • 7

1993-12-211h 19m

DramaTV Movie

Margaret (Lena Headey) is a shy, pale, middle-class Englishwoman who is reluctantly engaged to her older, twittish neighbor Syl Monro (David Threlfall). Both bride- and groom-to-be still live with their mothers in the humdrum suburb of Croydon. However Margaret has been acting strangely ever since a vacation in Egypt, where she stayed with her mother's friend Marie-Claire (Catherine Schell). She secretly despises Syl, but does not resist when her mother Monica (Julie Walters), who has repressed the failure of her own matrimony, insists on marriage for the sake of social convention.

Directors
Waris Hussein
Writters
Alice Thomas Ellis, Martin Sherman
Editors
Alice Thomas Ellis, Ken Pierce

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Jeanne Moreau

    Jeanne Moreau

    Lili

  2. Joan Plowright

    Joan Plowright

    Mrs. Monro

  3. Lena Headey

    Lena Headey

    Margaret

  4. Julie Walters

    Julie Walters

    Monica

  5. David Threlfall

    David Threlfall

    Syl

  6. Catherine Schell

    Catherine Schell

    Marie-Claire

  7. John Wood

    John Wood

    Robert

  8. Padraig O'Loinsigh

    Padraig O'Loinsigh

    Nour

  9. Britta Smith

    Britta Smith

    Mother Joseph

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 20, 2024

6/10

Waris Hussein was an accomplished director so perhaps all he had to do for Jeanne Moreau, Joan Plowright and Julie Walters to turn up here was offer them an opportunity to sit around reminiscing whilst necking copious amounts of booze. For that, folks, is just about all that happens in this drama that sees old friends and family getting together for the wedding of "Margaret" (Lena Headey) to "Syl" (David Threlfall). It's hardly an arrangement made in Heaven, this one - indeed she could hardly be more indifferent to the entire enterprise. That's because she met a much hunkier lad whilst holidaying in Egypt and her future isn't looking so bright now she is home. "Lili" (Moreau) arrives at their country home promising to be seen and not heard, but after a few glasses she alone seems to spot the huge great elephant in the marital room - but can she find a way of delicately asserting herself without offending the groom, his mother (Plowright) or the bride's (Walters)? What's also quite clear is that her own husband isn't there either - and we have to wonder if he is ever going to show up. It's a gently paced affair that only really comes alive when the red-haired Moreau gets her teeth into her part. Otherwise, even though there is a little twist in the tale of the Egyptian excursion that wasn't what I was expecting, the rest of this is all a rather pedestrian television drama that's over-scripted and seems to spend a great deal of time opening curtains and harking back to their respective pasts. Sadly the total is nowhere near the sum of it's parts and though nicely photographed, I found it all entirely bland.

Media

  • The Summer House backdrop

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
infidelityegyptlondon, englandnungallery ownermarriage of convenienceart gallerynovicewomen's issuesnunhoodloveless marriagemarriage brokermother daughter relationshipcroydonoil paintingage-gap relationshipbritish