Film Review: Keeping Mum (2005)
Keeping Mum (2005). Co-written and directed by Niall Johnson. The film starts 43 years before present day, with a pregnant woman travelling on a train with a large trunk. Blood seeps from the corner of the trunk and is spotted by the ticket collector. The pregnant woman is arrested at the next station, and it transpires that the trunk contains the dismembered bodies of her husband and his lover. The story then moves forward to present day, with a family comprising a vicar (Rowan Atkinson), his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas), her son and daughter, and the wife's lover (Patrick Swayze). Then Grace the housekeeper (Maggie Smith) turns up at their door. Keeping Mum has a curious balance of sweetness about it, mixed with black comedy. It does play much like a classic British sitcom, albeit with decent pretensions of a feature film. The story is paced well, and sustains interest almost throughout. Only at the end did I feel it fell down, albeit (a) it was going to be a hard film to end well and (b) others may feel differently. It has that middle aged woman feel about it, inevitably helped by the central middle aged female character, but I still enjoyed it. Recommended for middle aged women and also others that like a bit of light drama and black comedy. 4/5 (Good)