A Perfect "Day"

Believe it or not, a heart-wrenching romance CAN exist on film without the two main characters having sex.

"The Remains of the Day" is a film of manners and longing based upon the book by Kazuo Ishiguro, and assembled with care by the Merchant/Ivory team.

The story covers a period in the life of James Stephens (Anthony Hopkins in a PERFECT performance), the head butler of a large English estate during and after World War II. He is a quiet man who serves with tradition, keeping opinions to himself and abiding by strict social code. One almost expects to see him as the fabricated gentleman on the old clock who chimes every hour with constant calculation (a notion matched by Richard Robbins' beautiful score). He lives to serve.

When the new head maid arrives (Emma Thompson), the two become agreeable workmates, and the film deals with their underlying affections for each other, and Mr. Stephens' inability to express his emotions.

Add to that the ensemble of characters who include James Fox as the meek butler's longtime employer of questionable repute, Hugh Grant as the patronizing God-son of the boss, and Christopher Reeve as an American representative during a summit of historical significance. These and other ingredients make "The Remains of the Day" a fully-fleshed out film that earns more emotional involvement than most of today's blatant cinematic assaults on the concept of romance.

I could go on about the performances, the great technical work, and the awards associated, but I don't believe any of that compares to the fact that this is a film that people will (and should) watch in 50 years.

British accents and period dress are NOT good enough excuses to avoid this film in favor of a more heavily hyped attempt at a WWII love story that BOMBED theatres in the summer of 2001. I won't mention the name of this travesty, except to say that it took 140 million clams to produce such a shoddy "pearl." However, "The Remains of the Day" will always be a true gem.