The Party

Director: Sally Potter

2017, UK, 71, R

Screenwriter: Sally Potter

Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall.

 

Pinch us if this ensemble of great actors is not a dream, and we really have to chance to see Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire), Timothy Spall (Secrets & Lies) Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) and Patricia Clarkson (Far From Heaven) performing together. The acerbic drawing room comedy written and directed by Sally Potter (Orlando) takes place during a party in an upscale London townhouse, in celebration of Kristin Scott Thomas’ appointment as health minister. While her academic husband (Timothy Spall) and most of the partygoers are liberals, they are a cynical, acid-tongued bunch, with Patricia Clarkson as the hostess’ supposed best friend who takes gleeful pleasure in her deliciously nasty bon mots – “Tickle an aromatherapist and you’ll find a fascist,” for a start. Before long, promises are betrayed, secret vices uncovered, and the fate of the British governing class seems shaky as hell.

“Potter keeps the energy fizzing and the jokes crackling throughout, a state-of-the-nation commentary on 21st century Britain.” – Mark Kermode Four stars Guardian Film of the Week.