CinemaSerf
May 26, 2024
7/10
"Flowers" (Ben Gazzara) reckons there are easy pickings to be had setting up a brothel in Singapore and feathering his nest for a life of luxury back in the USA. Upon his arrival he alights on a collection of ex-pat Brits and befriends "William" (Denholm Elliott) - a decent man, an accountant, with little interest in the goings on in an whorehouse besides balancing the books for it's owners. Needless to say, the local Triad gang don't look too kindly on his interfering enterprise, but events in Vietnam might just provide for the most unlikely of supporters for his increasingly risky venture. Initially I thought Gazzara too lightweight to hold this together, but coupled with quite a poignant effort from Elliott and relying on a solid cast of familiar British faces, the story develops into quite an interesting observation of a man who does, indeed, have some scruples and standards of his own - even if he doesn't mind so much just quite how he makes his fortune! As events proceed, even those priorities begin to be re-thought. It's a bit of a slow starter, this, but to watch the naive cynicism of "Flowers" evolve, mature even, is worth a watch.