A pregnant young French woman comes to London to have or not have her baby, searches for rooms to let and meets a boarding house full of characters played by the inimitable Brock Peters (famous mostly for his role in To Kill A Mockingbird) and Tom Bell (who three decades later would be Helen Mirren's nemesis police officer in Prime Suspect). Caron is elegant and lovely, innocent and tough. The older women in the house, Doris, Maisie, and Sonia downstairs are fascinating glimpses into London's earlier days, during and before the second world war. Johnny (Peters) playing his horn in a beatnik jazz club presents life in the early 60s scene, biracial, jazzy, kind of sad. There are fiercely judgemental stares from middle-aged married couples throughout the film, harsh words from policemen, self-pitying screeds from lonely depressed writers, but 'Jane' (Caron) grows less innocent and tragic as the film moves along, becoming more self-assured, composed, and brave. A lovely realistic film, highly recommended.
Review of The L-Shaped Room
