Month in the Country (A)
- Director: Pat O'Connor
- Writer: J.L. Carr; Simon Gray
- Producer: Dominic Fulford; Johnny Goodman
CGiii Comment
Terribly English, terribly atmospheric, two young men (one gay) shell-shocked in rural England.
The tone is gentle, the scenes are soft.
It's not a rollercoaster ride, more of a comfortable stroll with splendid views.
O'Connor handles the actors with skill, Brannaugh is reminiscent [before the ego kicked in] of his Billy plays and Firth plays Firth (as always)...but, it works - and it works well.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Five centuries ago a mural was created in a country church in the north of England and then hidden under layers of white paint. Looking at it again will be a distraction, the Rev. Mr. Keach tells WWI veteran Tom Birken who will spend a month in the country restoring the mural. Another veteran, James Moon, is looking for the grave of an ancestor of the patroness of the church who fought in the Crusades. The rector's wife, Alice, comes to see the mural and later visits Birken's bell tower abode, bringing a basket of apples. Will she open the book in which he has pressed the yellow rose she gave him earlier?
Cast & Characters
Colin Firth as Tom Birkin;
John Atkinsons as Old Man on Train;
Jim Carter as Ellerbeck;
Patrick Malahide as Reverend Keach;
Kenneth Branagh as James Moon;
Richard Vernon as Colonel Hebron;
Tim Barker as Mossop;
Vicki Arundale as Kathy Ellerbeck;
Martin O'Neil as Edgar Ellerbeck;
Natasha Richardson as Alice Keach;
Tony Haygarth as Douthwaite;
Eileen O'Brien as Mrs. Ellerbeck;
Elizabeth Anson as Lucy Sykes;
Barbara Marten as Mrs. Sykes;
Kenneth Kitson as Mr. Sykes