I did not know that this was an adaptation from a book and therefore had no expectations. I picked up this movie hoping it would be a satisfying romance - sadly, the film did not live up to the DVD summary text. Maybe it was the adaptation as a screenplay that made this story seem shallow and fantastical. To echo a previous comment I felt no chemistry between the 2 main characters (Claire Bloom and Daniel Lavoie). I have admired Claire Bloom's work for many years but she was given nothing to work with in this screenplay - just an air of resignation and acceptance.
***Here Be Spoilers*** Eve's first appearance is as the abused and worn-out spouse of a boorish semi-invalid. She is nothing more to him than an unpaid caregiver. Her pension cheque arrives which prompts her to quit her affluent yet tedious life where she is taken for granted, pack 2 bags and her Bose(TM) radio, and catch a cab into the city. Despite giving all her youth and energy to her spouse, children and home (per a traditional 50s-style marriage) her husband immediately closes their joint bank account so she is left without financial support other than her pension.
Then follows a sequence of events that just seem too good to be true. With no destination in mind she happens to exit her taxi right outside a boarding house where there happens to be a vacancy. The landlady happens to have a heart of gold and Eve is able to move into a fully furnished, upholstered and kitted-out bed-sit. Despite it being on the ground floor with an external door there are no bugs, pests, damp or rodents inside the suite. In any other house (minus living room furniture) this space would be classified as the "mud room".
She soon crosses paths with other occupants of the apartment building but they are just background movement without history or interaction except for the gay couple who have a public break-up on the staircase. Then one of the other residents gets so drunk he passes out outside her room. Hey presto - potential love-interest. He turns out to be an Eastern European intellectual who has run away from the regime of his country of origin leaving behind family and friends. His close relations are renowned artists, he can play piano, is a fantastic cook and can turn his hand well to anything. (In reality his country's government would likely be applying punitive measures to his relatives for his defection and his children would be held back from any career they may wish to follow.)
Eve is able to subsist on funds from pawning her jewellery, and is disappointed to discover that a name-brand wristwatch - a gift from her husband - is a knock-off and practically worthless. A rather telling indication of their relationship. Then, hey presto, while scavenging household items put out on the street by other home-owners something catches her eye. She cleans it up and it turns out to be a sculpture by a well-known artist. Her pawn-shop owner friend is persuaded to display it prominently in his shop window, gets it assessed and, hey presto, it's worth something. (The monetary value is never disclosed in the dialogue but it seems to be rather a lot because they celebrate with champagne.) ***End of Spoilers***
By this time I had become bored with the story. There are no highlights, no periods of desperation, no joy, no misery - just banality. Character backstories are minimal or non-existent and Eve's physical appearance never suffers from her lack of funds for maintenance. She never goes hungry, when she catches a cold she soon recovers, she seems to find exactly what she needs when she needs it, etc. etc. When she meets her grand-daughter or son there is no real warmth in their interactions. Her son tries to guilt her into feeling sorry for the selfish husband - who has already imported a younger fresh model as his new caregiver and appears to be much more agile than he ever was when Eve was living with him. Her best friend (played by Susannah York) is the only bright spark in this dismal film and when it ended my immediate thought was "Is that all?".
***Here Be Spoilers*** Eve's first appearance is as the abused and worn-out spouse of a boorish semi-invalid. She is nothing more to him than an unpaid caregiver. Her pension cheque arrives which prompts her to quit her affluent yet tedious life where she is taken for granted, pack 2 bags and her Bose(TM) radio, and catch a cab into the city. Despite giving all her youth and energy to her spouse, children and home (per a traditional 50s-style marriage) her husband immediately closes their joint bank account so she is left without financial support other than her pension.
Then follows a sequence of events that just seem too good to be true. With no destination in mind she happens to exit her taxi right outside a boarding house where there happens to be a vacancy. The landlady happens to have a heart of gold and Eve is able to move into a fully furnished, upholstered and kitted-out bed-sit. Despite it being on the ground floor with an external door there are no bugs, pests, damp or rodents inside the suite. In any other house (minus living room furniture) this space would be classified as the "mud room".
She soon crosses paths with other occupants of the apartment building but they are just background movement without history or interaction except for the gay couple who have a public break-up on the staircase. Then one of the other residents gets so drunk he passes out outside her room. Hey presto - potential love-interest. He turns out to be an Eastern European intellectual who has run away from the regime of his country of origin leaving behind family and friends. His close relations are renowned artists, he can play piano, is a fantastic cook and can turn his hand well to anything. (In reality his country's government would likely be applying punitive measures to his relatives for his defection and his children would be held back from any career they may wish to follow.)
Eve is able to subsist on funds from pawning her jewellery, and is disappointed to discover that a name-brand wristwatch - a gift from her husband - is a knock-off and practically worthless. A rather telling indication of their relationship. Then, hey presto, while scavenging household items put out on the street by other home-owners something catches her eye. She cleans it up and it turns out to be a sculpture by a well-known artist. Her pawn-shop owner friend is persuaded to display it prominently in his shop window, gets it assessed and, hey presto, it's worth something. (The monetary value is never disclosed in the dialogue but it seems to be rather a lot because they celebrate with champagne.) ***End of Spoilers***
By this time I had become bored with the story. There are no highlights, no periods of desperation, no joy, no misery - just banality. Character backstories are minimal or non-existent and Eve's physical appearance never suffers from her lack of funds for maintenance. She never goes hungry, when she catches a cold she soon recovers, she seems to find exactly what she needs when she needs it, etc. etc. When she meets her grand-daughter or son there is no real warmth in their interactions. Her son tries to guilt her into feeling sorry for the selfish husband - who has already imported a younger fresh model as his new caregiver and appears to be much more agile than he ever was when Eve was living with him. Her best friend (played by Susannah York) is the only bright spark in this dismal film and when it ended my immediate thought was "Is that all?".