Grace Hawkins makes quite an impact in the lives of Rev. Walter Goodfellow and his family. Grace, who has been engaged as the Goodfellow's housekeeper, is a no nonsense woman who deals firmly with whatever annoys her, or the family she in now working for. The only thing is that Grace has peculiar ideas in how to go about them.
When Grace arrives, she sees a family that is slowly pulling apart. First, there is a problem with Petey, the young son, who is being bullied in school, where he is not asserting himself. Leave it to Grace, she puts and end to that problem. When the dog next door keeps barking all night long, Grace goes into action to take care of the pooch. She realizes Holly, the promiscuous daughter has a lot of admirers. Indirectly, Grace helps both Holly, and her mother Gloria, who are being pursued by the same man. She even gives a new confidence to the vicar, who suddenly finds a funny way to reach his congregation and at the same time, he regains his marital bliss with Gloria.
Niall Johnson directed the film, based on a story by Richard Russo, one of our best writers. Mr. Johnson works well with the material and gets excellent acting from his cast. Maggie Smith is priceless as Grace. Her face expresses all what Grace is going through without becoming a caricature, or a Grand Guignol figure. The elegant Kristin Scott-Thomas plays Gloria, who receives an unexpected surprise from Grace. Rowan Atkinson is perfect as the vicar Goodfellow. Patrick Swayze appears as a golf pro with a leering eye. Liz Smith is the annoying Mrs. Parker.
"Keeping Mum" is a fun film to watch. Niall Johnson has done wonders with this winning film.
When Grace arrives, she sees a family that is slowly pulling apart. First, there is a problem with Petey, the young son, who is being bullied in school, where he is not asserting himself. Leave it to Grace, she puts and end to that problem. When the dog next door keeps barking all night long, Grace goes into action to take care of the pooch. She realizes Holly, the promiscuous daughter has a lot of admirers. Indirectly, Grace helps both Holly, and her mother Gloria, who are being pursued by the same man. She even gives a new confidence to the vicar, who suddenly finds a funny way to reach his congregation and at the same time, he regains his marital bliss with Gloria.
Niall Johnson directed the film, based on a story by Richard Russo, one of our best writers. Mr. Johnson works well with the material and gets excellent acting from his cast. Maggie Smith is priceless as Grace. Her face expresses all what Grace is going through without becoming a caricature, or a Grand Guignol figure. The elegant Kristin Scott-Thomas plays Gloria, who receives an unexpected surprise from Grace. Rowan Atkinson is perfect as the vicar Goodfellow. Patrick Swayze appears as a golf pro with a leering eye. Liz Smith is the annoying Mrs. Parker.
"Keeping Mum" is a fun film to watch. Niall Johnson has done wonders with this winning film.