"Women Talking Dirty" is a nicely crafted, bittersweet comedy about the lasting friendship between two young women and the secret that threatens to separate them. It makes a welcome addition to a recent spate of British films with a strong friendship between two women at the core of the story -- films such as "Me Without You", "High Heels and Low Lifes" and "Beautiful Creatures". While at times its structure doesn't quite work, the strength of the central performances by Helena Bonham Carter and Gina McKee makes it enjoyable and amusing.
The film, the first production from Elton John's Rocket Pictures, was actually made in 1999. It is elegantly directed by talented British filmmaker Coky Giedroyc ("Stella Does Tricks"), who makes great use of the Edinburgh, Scotland, locations. The film could well strike a chord with audiences, especially those picking up on the talents of Bonham Carter and McKee.
The story traces the lives of two very different women. Feisty Cora (Bonham Carter) moves to Edinburgh from her coastal Scottish home to study but promptly falls in love with a Frenchman and ends up pregnant. Ellen (McKee) is a shy but successful cartoonist who falls in love with the charming but unreliable Daniel (an impressive James Purefoy). The two women meet in a pub and end up as the best of friends, trying to help each other through their various trials and tribulations. Cora ends up as a single mother, deeply in debt, while Daniel is a compulsive gambler who messes Ellen around.
But, a deep secret is at the core of their friendship. On a rare night out, Cora sleeps with Daniel, who doesn't reveal to her he was married to her friend Ellen. She ends up pregnant with his child but can't bring herself to tell Ellen. Daniel eventually abandons Ellen, but then one day he returns, and the truth comes out.
Bonham Carter and McKee both adopt creditable Scottish accents for their roles. Bonham Carter plays Cora as over-the-top and wild, though still gentle enough to be a fine mother. McKee has the more difficult job of handling a character who is soft and dreamy yet still quietly determined.
The cast is rounded out by an excellent band of actors playing their close friends -- James Nesbitt, Eileen Atkins, Richard Wilson and Kenneth Cranham. It's a shame that more is not made of this band of friends, who drift through two-thirds of the film, then must take on key roles in the final section.
The film's episodic structure can be a problem. Adapting her own novel, screenwriter Isla Dewar can't quite find the best way of moving the story along. An audience is left aware of things left out, rather than being allowed to focus on the things still there. The Edinburgh locations, though, add a great deal to the story and serve as the perfect backdrop.
WOMEN TALKING DIRTY
A Jean Doumanian production
in association with Rocket Pictures
Producers: David Furnish, Polly Steele
Director: Coky Giedroyc
Executive producers: J.E. Beaucaire, Jean Doumanian, Elton John
Screenwriter: Isla Dewar
Based on the novel by: Isla Dewar
Director of photography: Brian Tufano
Production designer: Lynne Whiteread
Editors: Patrick Moore, Budge Tremlett
Costume designer: Michele Clapton
Music: Simon Boswell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Cora: Helena Bonham Carter
Ellen: Gina McKee
Daniel: James Purefoy
Stanley: James Nesbitt
Emily Boyle: Eileen Atkins
Ronald: Richard Wilson
George: Kenneth Cranham
Claude: Julien Lambroschini
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The film, the first production from Elton John's Rocket Pictures, was actually made in 1999. It is elegantly directed by talented British filmmaker Coky Giedroyc ("Stella Does Tricks"), who makes great use of the Edinburgh, Scotland, locations. The film could well strike a chord with audiences, especially those picking up on the talents of Bonham Carter and McKee.
The story traces the lives of two very different women. Feisty Cora (Bonham Carter) moves to Edinburgh from her coastal Scottish home to study but promptly falls in love with a Frenchman and ends up pregnant. Ellen (McKee) is a shy but successful cartoonist who falls in love with the charming but unreliable Daniel (an impressive James Purefoy). The two women meet in a pub and end up as the best of friends, trying to help each other through their various trials and tribulations. Cora ends up as a single mother, deeply in debt, while Daniel is a compulsive gambler who messes Ellen around.
But, a deep secret is at the core of their friendship. On a rare night out, Cora sleeps with Daniel, who doesn't reveal to her he was married to her friend Ellen. She ends up pregnant with his child but can't bring herself to tell Ellen. Daniel eventually abandons Ellen, but then one day he returns, and the truth comes out.
Bonham Carter and McKee both adopt creditable Scottish accents for their roles. Bonham Carter plays Cora as over-the-top and wild, though still gentle enough to be a fine mother. McKee has the more difficult job of handling a character who is soft and dreamy yet still quietly determined.
The cast is rounded out by an excellent band of actors playing their close friends -- James Nesbitt, Eileen Atkins, Richard Wilson and Kenneth Cranham. It's a shame that more is not made of this band of friends, who drift through two-thirds of the film, then must take on key roles in the final section.
The film's episodic structure can be a problem. Adapting her own novel, screenwriter Isla Dewar can't quite find the best way of moving the story along. An audience is left aware of things left out, rather than being allowed to focus on the things still there. The Edinburgh locations, though, add a great deal to the story and serve as the perfect backdrop.
WOMEN TALKING DIRTY
A Jean Doumanian production
in association with Rocket Pictures
Producers: David Furnish, Polly Steele
Director: Coky Giedroyc
Executive producers: J.E. Beaucaire, Jean Doumanian, Elton John
Screenwriter: Isla Dewar
Based on the novel by: Isla Dewar
Director of photography: Brian Tufano
Production designer: Lynne Whiteread
Editors: Patrick Moore, Budge Tremlett
Costume designer: Michele Clapton
Music: Simon Boswell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Cora: Helena Bonham Carter
Ellen: Gina McKee
Daniel: James Purefoy
Stanley: James Nesbitt
Emily Boyle: Eileen Atkins
Ronald: Richard Wilson
George: Kenneth Cranham
Claude: Julien Lambroschini
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/27/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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