Stevie (1978)

7/10

stage-bound but a good tribute to an eccentric poet

didi-516 August 2007

This film betrays its stage origins at every turn, from the length of time it takes to get going to its asides to camera. Performances are strong throughout, particularly Glenda Jackson as Stevie Smith and Trevor Howard as the mysterious 'The Man', who speaks Smith's poems so brilliantly.

Jackson was a marvellous actress who left many performances on record before her decision to retire and become an MP; watching 'Stevie', you can see hints of her other roles ... and yet, because of make-up, script and setting it is so different to any of the others.

Tightly directed and economically filmed, 'Stevie' is a film which repays watching more than once. It should be more widely available.

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8/10

Shear poetry from Glenda Jackson!

mark.waltz2 October 2018

Warning: Spoilers

In the late 1970's, Glenda Jackson was popular as a result of her performances in light romantic comedies, either starring opposite George Segal or Walter Matthau, and well respected for her participation in the art house films of the early 1970's, mostly directed by Ken Russell. Many of her films are obscure because they only appeal to certain kinds of audiences, and as one wag once put it, "Guess what. I saw a film the other day, and Glenda Jackson was not in it!" Even fellow British acting legend Maggie Smith got to comment in "California Suite" about Glenda being nominated for an Oscar pretty much every year. Indeed, in the 1970's, Glenda was nominated four times for the Academy Award (winning twice), tying with Ellen Burstyn and Jane Fonda for the most nominated actress of that decade even if she was not box office dynamite. Had "Stevie" been more promoted when it was released in 1978, she might have gotten a fifth nomination, but by the time this got an L.A. release, it was 1981, and the film slid by without recognition outside its original New York release several years before.

Most of Glenda's dialog is spoken to the audience, and how it is done in this biography of poet Stevie Smith truly works. She is touching, funny, tragic, sad, commanding, honest and real. She speaks out on many topics with such refreshing candidness that she instantly takes you into her heart. The first three quarters of the film deals with her relationship with the aunt she has lived with for years (the wonderful Mona Washbourne, best known as Mrs. Pearce in "My Fair Lady"), facing a confrontation with an old beau (Alec McCowen) whom she loves but cannot commit to out of her own fears of intimacy, and facing her own mortality as Washbourne gets weaker. Jackson discusses the issues with society, commenting on the middle class's snobbery and revealing a touching story of an old man she witnessed being escorted out of a posh tea shop. She then faces her greatest challenge: a meeting with Queen Elizabeth which is not without its folly. An anecdote concerning the Queen Mother is very funny, especially when considering Jackson's presence on the House of Commons for many years.

Stevie Smith was obviously a complex woman, yet quite charming in spite of her personal issues that prevented her from seeking relationships with men past the general friendships she made with them. Jackson goes out of her way to make you feel like you know this character inside and out, and yet instill her with a bit of mystery. Washbourne, too, makes you see who her character is with her love of sherry, her want of seeing Jackson settle down with a nice man, and ultimately as she gets older, her neediness and sad advance into old age. The last scene with her is one to reach for a Kleenex. Trevor Howard has a few odds and ends appearances by himself, describing his friendship with Stevie, and in the last reel, actually getting a chance to appear with her. This is a film that on concept might seem like it could bore you to sleep, but it is one that is surprisingly magical, with a combination of performances, writing, directing and most important overall, humanity, making it an absolute must.

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8/10

Less than meets the eye

Goingbegging31 May 2019

There could never be a great film about Stevie Smith; the poet is simply too small, silly and self-absorbed, like her work - just the kind of poetry that seems to win awards, as hers did twice.

But smallness is the strength of this film, and its economy has been praised by many. Most of the action (mainly talk, in fact) takes place in one modest suburban front parlour, between Stevie and her deeply unpoetic Yorkshire aunt, played by Mona Washbourne, who comes a little too close to caricature, and does not quite measure up to Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard or Alec McCowen, who comprise the rest of the minimal cast. Even at that, the two males are only allowed on-board as fringe-characters, McCowen as the hopeful young suitor Freddy, doomed to disappointment, and Howard as a mystery figure, known only as The Man, presumably an ex-lover, who recites a few of her poems with deep sincerity.

These poems display little virtue (rather like a poor man's Edith Sitwell), but they reveal an unusually deep preoccupation with death, alongside a confused and childish protest against middle-class values, as deeply embedded in the aunt's character. Her coining of the phrase 'Not waving but drowning' may yet survive as her epitaph.

Jackson carries full conviction as Stevie, having to act the same person from schooldays onwards, so we don't always know what age and stage we're at. She talks as though she's still in her teens when she visits Berlin with a German boyfriend at the beginning of the Nazi era, by which time Stevie would have been into her thirties.

Meanwhile she treats death as another character in the story, apparently welcoming the certainty of his arrival, and Howard reports that she died, unable to speak, but circling one word on a sheet of paper. The word was 'Death'.

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Lingering Hopefully

drednm6 February 2012

Literate, lovely, sad film about the British poet/writer Stevie Smith with splendid performances by Glenda Jackson as Stevie and Mona Washbourne as the "lion aunt." Stagy, yes, but filled with love and wit and great wisdom.

The narrative follows the adult years of the eccentric poet in her suburban London home she shares with her aunt. Her workaday like is a background to her domestic life with flashbacks of school, a failed love, and death ... a major theme in her writing.

But rather than being gloomy, the film points out the joys of a life even if unfulfilled by husband and children. Jackson enacts many of Stevie's poems as a counterpoint to her own life, and she is quite superb.

Mona Washbourne is excellent and endearing as the aging aunt who really doesn't understand the Bohemian life of her gifted niece. Yet they have a wonderful life together. The domestic scenes of the simple joys of conversation and good sherry are wondrous.

Alec McCowen is the lost suitor. Trevor Howard is the narrator who wanders through the story.

A pity this is not available on DVD. A lovely film for the intelligent viewer.

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10/10

A Great Film

Jojo88818 April 2008

As another reviewer has said, this film is talky. Talky like a good Shakespeare play is talky, in my opinion. Glenda Jackson reading Stevie Smith's poetry on screen. Works for me. The film contains "four of the finest actors Britain has produced", says a reviewer. You don't suppose such high caliber actors know what is good material and what is not worth their time, do you? This film is a treasure. No CGI special effects, but you won't miss them. It is just an exploration of a poets life. A wonderful life, well lived. A wonderful film, well acted. Glenda Jackson as Stevie takes the viewer on a journey through the life of poet, Stevie Smith. Glenda breaths life into the incidents of Stevie's life with her great skill as an actress. And Mona Washbourne as Stevie's "Lion" Aunt, is no less that just perfect.

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9/10

A flawed, fascinating portrayal of a true eccentric

lynn24057 January 2004

This is a wonderful film. It is not perfect; not many man-made artifacts are. However, if you have seen any film of Stevie Smith, you will realise how well Glenda Jackson captures her spirit, and especially her appearance. The claustrophobic scenes (mostly in the living-room of her very ordinary house) enhance this impression. The music and the interspersed commentary by Trevor Howard detach us from the story so we can be objective. Yes, it is sad; anyone who reads Smith's poetry knows it is sad, macabre and eccentric. The only real drawback is Mona Washbourne's portrayal of the aunt, not apparently true to life. Shame, as she is the warmest of the characters in the film. I only wish they would release it on dvd as video does not do it justice.

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10/10

Such a good memory

i-spookie11 June 2013

Reading the reviews and feeling like I feel, I want to keep this film alive by adding a comment here.

I saw this years ago and never forgot it. I was (and am) a Glenda Jackson fan - although we are both of age now. The story of Stevie Smith was new to me at the time. What a wonderful way to get to know her writings ! It blew me way. I've read much of her since thanks to this film. I found it sublime. Much thanks to Mona Washburn and Trevor Howard (both died in 1988), but mostly to Glenda Jackson. I wish I could see it again. Can anybody show me where to get it ? Dl or otherwise. I'm grateful that I have the vinyl LP so I can listen to it from time to time :)

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I love this film!

erik-13915 October 2002

Anyone interested in Stevie Smith, or with a taste for literary films, can't fail to appreciate the beauty of this little movie.The atmosphere created by the film is intimate & bookish, and Jackson's well-honed performance (she created the role in the stage play) conveys Stevie's vulnerability & brilliance wonderfully.

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One of my favorite plays and a fine film, too.

mtalbert-113 November 2002

I was most fortunate to have seen the original London production of Stevie, which was a landmark experience for me: my first London play, my introduction to the highly individual poetry of Stevie Smith and my one chance to see Glenda Jackson live. As for the film, I cherish my copy of it. While I admit it isn't very cinematic, it is a delight for lovers of the language, as Jackson and Washburn banter, and watching Glenda Jackson work is a delight. Highly recommended.

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Stevie Smith: "discomfiting and even improbable"

thedad7 September 2001

For a thoughtful, literate, positive essay on the film, see Ed Hirsch in American Poetry Review (Jul/Aug 2000): 32-37: ""It's deeply fitting that the last words of the film are the words of Stevie's final poem ["Come Death (a)," read by Trevor Howard]. They fill the mind, the theater, with their faithful summons, their fatal timely music.""

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Great actors do not a great film make!

bobj-316 April 2001

This is an appallingly boring film. Perhaps it was an interesting stage play...I don't know. But it doesn't work as a film because there is virtually nothing cinematic about it. It remains confined largely within the dimensions of a stage set (there is really only one set, a shabby-genteel apartment where "Stevie" (the real-life poet Stevie Smith) lives with her long-suffering aunt (played by Mona Washbourne). Stevie, you see, has problems---emotional problems, problems with her "muse," problems living with her dependent aunt, problems with lovers (one of them, Trevor Howard, bears the enigmatic name of "The Man.") And Stevie TALKS...all the time, a constant stream of arty, supposedly meaningful, but utterly self-indulgent jabber. Glenda Jackson plays "Stevie,"...she really liked talky parts, it would seem. This one fits her like a glove. She, Howard, Washbourne, and Alec McCowen are four of the finest actors Britain has produced. Yet they wallow in this mess for what seems like days (the film actually only runs a bit over the usual 90 minutes). Steer clear of this deadly dull bio-pic, unless you just can't do without the poetry and posturings of Stevie Smith, or you absolutely must see the entire "oeuvre" of Glenda Jackson, M.P.

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