Separate Tables - Two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Director John Schlesinger, long celebrated for his work in big movies, wisely resisted the impulse to imitate the 1958 big-screen version of Sir Terence Rattigan's "Separate Tables" (starring David Niven and Deborah Kerr.) By choosing to give it the intimacy of a stage production, Schlesinger's film deftly captures the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Beauregard Hotel and the quiet desperation of its elderly residents.
Schlesinger also assembled a distinguished cast of chamber music perfection. Julie Christie, Alan Bates, and Claire Bloom turn in powerful performances of the major roles. The supporting players, from Irene Worth's portrayal of the insufferable Mrs. Railton-Bell, to Liz Smith's batty Miss Meachum, are pitch-perfect.
Having Schubert's Impromptu in G Flat as the only music is another masterstroke; aside from its being a beautiful piece, it's just the sort of music that would bring a smile to the face of Sylvia Barter's Lady Matheson. In contrast, the score for the 1958 movie is typical of the day -- the sort of over-produced, intrusive noise Bette Davis detested.
Perhaps the tortured relationship of Miss Shankland and John Malcolm is the stuff of the 1950s, and the offenses of Major Pollock wouldn't make the papers now, but there will always be people like Miss Cooper, Mr. Fowler, and Miss Meachum. I can't imagine why this film has not been released on DVD. At least the VHS version is still available.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Separate Tables - Two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan

Two one-act plays explore love and loneliness. In "Table by the Window" an aging fashion model contrives a reunion with her ex-husband, a politician ruined by scandal, and their passion is rekindled. In "Table Number Seven" a meek woman harbors a secret love for a man accused of fraud and sex offenses, forcing her to take a stand for the first time in her life.

Click here for more information about Separate Tables - Two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan