In Celebration
"Anderson and a Superb Cast have made a harrowing and satisfying suspense drama." - New York Magazine
Utilizing the same brilliant cast as In Celebration's original highly acclaimed Royal Court Theater run, director Lindsay Anderson (O Lucky Man, If) re-imagines his stage triumph into a riveting cinematic experience. Anderson grounds David Storye's ferocious and poignant drama in a setting that is as realistic as the playwright's caustic portrait of generational hypocrisy is universal. In their tiny house in a Yorkshire mining town, God-fearing and hard-working Mr. and Mrs. Shaw (Bill Owen and Constance Chapman) welcome their sons home to celebrate the couple's fortieth wedding anniversary. But with each son's arrival, more and more of the Shaw's model blue collar family facade begins to chip away. Middle son Colin's (James Bolam) engagement has placed him on the pat to a loveless marriage. Barely shouldering the burdens of his shattered artistic aspirations and his own family, Steven, the baby, brilliantly played by Brian Cox (Manhunter, 25th Hour), is on the threshold of a nervous breakdown. But the toaster tossed into this already scalding theatrical bath is Alan Bates (Georgy Girl, The Cherry Orchard) as eldest son Andrew. As father, mother and brothers futilely try to hide the truth from themselves and each other, Bates' Andrew tears into the Shaw family's carefully maintained fictions with animal fury and all too human bitterness.
Anderson's spare and elegant direction grants his ensemble the space to collide and retreat even within the cramped confines of the Shaws' collier's cottage. In Anderson's sensitive hands, In Celebration becomes the visionary antithesis of John Ford's How Green Was My Valley and a cautionary yet inspiring tableau of a modern family living at a medieval level of disharmony.
Member Reviews
Engaging, but still belongs on the stage - RobBC
The resentments children and parents can hold against each other, even into adulthood, is a recurring theme in this story of three estranged brothers who come together at the family home to celebrate their mom and dad’s 40th wedding anniversary. From the outset it is obvious that tensions run deep in this family, with forced gaiety and impromptu arguments all around...apparently there is more than one elephant in the Shaw’s living room. Each son has an axe to grind and as the family’s afternoon of discomfort becomes a long night of discontent the blades turn razor sharp. There is a load of repressed anger here that seems to centre on the mother and, in an odd way, the memory of their eldest brother who died at the age of seven. Each son handles his pain differently...while one rages against society, another seeks solace in materialism while the youngest turns his anger inwards. Things finally reach the breaking point around the breakfast table when the sons realize they must either attempt an uneasy truce or watch the family disintegrate. Based on David Storey’s play, “In Celebration” is certainly theatrical with characters glaring daggers at each other and dialogue being delivered hot and heavy. This type of presentation does not do well on the small screen, in my opinion, and comes across as exaggerated melodrama. Furthermore, when the family’s “dark secrets” are finally revealed they hardly seem worth the preceding two hours of heated tirades and surly stares. Still, the acting is very good and the pace never slackens. I would love to have seen the original stage production.
Member Reviews
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Engaging, but still belongs on the stage - RobBC
The resentments children and parents can hold against each other, even into adulthood, is a recurring theme in this story of three estranged brothers who come together at the family home to celebrate their mom and dad’s 40th wedding anniversary. From the ...