Keeping Mum

UK, 2005. Directed by Niall Johnson. Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze, Tamsin Egerton, Liz Smith, Emilia Fox.

Amusing dark comedy which has its moments but ultimately fails to deliver satisfactorily. Rowan Atkinson, vicar of a tiny parish in Cornwall, is married to sexually frustrated Kristin Scott Thomas, who is half-heartedly embarking on an affair with her golf instructor (Patrick Swayze). Their daughter is sexually promiscuous and their son is being bullied at school. Into their household comes Maggie Smith, a sort of murderous Mary Poppins with a dark secret. Each of the family is helped by their new housekeeper, although her methods of bringing harmony to the household are unconventional to say the least. Well acted by all, but predictably it’s Maggie Smith who steals the film. Watching this I was reminded of some of the classic Ealing films (as I suspect I was meant to), but overall it’s a bit of a disappointment – the script feels a little too tentative, as if the director and writers aren’t too sure how far they can go. Nevertheless, an undemanding and occasionally funny film which is easy to watch.