Film Review
Issue 610, October 2001
Women Talking Dirty
3 Stars (out of 5)
STARS
Helena Bonham Carter
Gina McKee
James Purefoy
James Nesbitt
Richard Wilson
Kenneth Cranham
Eileen Atkins
DIRECTOR
Coky Giedroyc
SCREENPLAY
Isla Dewa
CERTIFICATE
15
DISTRIBUTOR
UIP
RUNNING TIME
1hr 37mins
OPENING DATE
September 28
Minds in the sewer
Take two top British actresses, cast them in an adaptation of a well received novel, surround them with quirky characters, add tension, some comedy and romance, simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat and voilą . . . instant hit, yes? Well, almost.
Two women from different worlds, university drop-out Cora (Bonham Carter) and successful cartoonist Ellen (McKee), become friends through a chance meeting in an Edinburgh pub. Cora is pregnant by a Frenchman who has hopped it back across the channel, Ellen is married to Daniel (Purefoy), a gambler and womaniser. Over the years, the two women lean on each other to cope with all the hassle their lives throw at them.
Daniel is a sod and manages to sow the seeds of a terrible confrontation between Ellen and Cora, anticipation of which simmers throughout the film and builds nicely to the high point of the movie: Ellen's first dinner party. This is where the supporting characters shine, especially Atkin's marvellous Emily, and it becomes clear how much better the film could have been had the character focus been broadened. McKee is superb, as always, and Bonham Carter gives her 'scatty working class' performance, which fits the bill just fine. Purefoy steals the show (again) as evil Daniel, managing to make the bad guy more fun than either of the two women.
Women Talking Dirty is likeable, raises a smile and, at times, really takes off. Somehow, though, it never quite makes the top rank. Maybe it's the time it takes for the women to form a bond; maybe it's the underuse of Atkins, Nesbitt, Wilson and Cranham, all very talented performers who barely have a chance to strut their stuff. Or maybe the film is let down by its rather implausible conclusion?
As, however, a first venture for writer Dewa, and David Furnish and Elton John's Rocket
Pictures, Women Talking Dirty holds great promise for the future.
Scott Andrews
