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Geoff and Kate Mercer |
"Kate Mercer (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband Geoff (Tom Courtenay) had to cancel the party for their 40th anniversary at short notice when Geoff underwent bypass surgery. The comfortably off, left-wing, childless, provincial couple now have a week to go before a replacement party to celebrate their 45th anniversary. Theoretically, this week should just involve planning, dress purchasing and a bit of social fretting.
This is not to be: shattering news arrives for Geoff from the Swiss authorities, explaining that the perfectly-preserved body of his ex-girlfriend, Katya, has been found, 50 years after she slipped into an Alpine crevasse. From the moment the news is received Kate can 'smell Katya's perfume in the room' and her perspective on their marriage changes forever."
"Completely miserable!" - Clare Youell.
"No guns or spacecraft!" - Nigel Seel.
Geoff Mercer is a miserable, passive-aggressive, petit-bourgeois pseudo-intellectual fixated on his dead g/f fifty years in the past; Kate Mercer is prim and over-controlled. Their sterile marriage unravels over five days.
What a joy to watch this film, so appreciated by the critics!
We have The Martian to look forwards to next week.
