- Shirley Valentine (film)
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Shirley Valentine 
Original poster by Drew StruzanDirected by Lewis Gilbert Produced by Lewis Gilbert Written by Willy Russell Starring Pauline Collins
Tom Conti
Alison Steadman
Julia McKenzie
Joanna LumleyMusic by Willy Russell Cinematography Alan Hume Editing by Lesley Walker Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date(s) August 30, 1989 (US)
October 27, 1989 (UK)Running time 108 minutes Country United Kingdom
United StatesLanguage English Box office $6,353,913 Shirley Valentine is a 1989 British/American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of the same title.
Contents
Plot
Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw (Pauline Collins) is a 42 year old Liverpudlian housewife whose family pays her so little attention she frequently talks to her kitchen walls in order to keep a conversation going. When her flamboyant friend Jane (Alison Steadman) wins a trip for two to Greece, Shirley uncharacteristically puts herself first and accepts her invitation to join her. Upon their arrival in Mykonos, Jane promptly abandons her companion for a romance with a man she met on the plane before it even took off. When the plane lands, Shirley sets off on her own, with Jane promising to return that night. Jane doesn't surface for several days, but Shirley is fine on her own, exploring the island. Eventually she is "rescued" by her fellow Brits Jeanette and Dougie (Anna Keaveney and George Costigan) at lunch one day. During lunch, another British couple begins to disparage Greece as being too Greek. Shirley can't stand more than a few insults before she blasts them all, letting them know that the Greeks are responsible for many modern accomplishments that they take for granted.
After dinner (at which she divulged what calamari is), she goes off alone and happens upon a taverna. She then asks the owner to help her fulfill a dream she's had: drinking wine by the sea. The owner, Costas Dimitriades (Tom Conti), willingly helps her by moving a small table and chair next to the sea. After realizing that the grass is indeed greener, Shirley is worse off than before. Costas comes by and offers to walk her back to her room. Once there, he invites her out to his brother's boat the next day. When she balks, he promises not to try to seduce her. Convinced that he only wants to cheer her up, she agrees. The next morning, as Shirley is preparing to meet Costas, Jane returns to the room, begging for forgiveness and not giving Shirley a word in edgewise. As Jane goes to change for their day together, Costas shows up and Shirley leaves with him, with Jane trailing behind in disbelief. Shirley then pawns Jane off on the uptight Brits as payback for leaving her alone. Shirley and Costas go out on the boat. Shirley goes skinny-dpping, revealing to the camera that she doesn't want Costas to keep his promise from the day before. After she kisses him, he doesn't.
Once Jane hears about what has happened, she believes that Shirley has fallen in love with Costas. However, Shirley reveals to the camera that she's fallen in love with the idea of living. Shirley spends more time with Costas, yet she is despondent about having to leave soon. Once the time comes, Shirley gets as far as the airport before turning back. Once back at the taverna, she finds Costas handing the same line to another tourist as he did with her. However, Shirley isn't upset because she didn't return for him; she wants a job. Once Jane arrives at the airport back in Britain, she drops Shirley's suitcase without a word to Joe, who is carrying an armful of flowers. He is shocked and embarrassed at being left and calls Shirley any time he can, from a variety of places. He becomes more and more desperate the longer she is away, as she becomes more content with her new life. Finally their son tells Joe to go and get her instead of insisting she come back. Hurt by his son's words, Joe sets off for Greece.
Shirley, having received a telegram about Joe's impending arrival, prepares for it. Costas is afraid of a confrontation with Joe, and begs off with a fake excuse. Once Joe arrives at the taverna, he walks by Shirley, not recognising her. She calls him by name and when he turns around, sees, as Shirley puts it, "not the wife or the mother, but Shirley Valentine". After gathering himself, she pours him a glass of wine and invites him to sit with her at the table and chairs by the sea.
Cast
- Pauline Collins (Gillian Kearney, young) as Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
- Tom Conti as Costas Dimitriades
- Alison Steadman as Jane
- Julia McKenzie as Gillian
- Joanna Lumley as Marjorie
- Anna Keaveney as Jeanette
- George Costigan as Dougie
- Bernard Hill as Joe Bradshaw
- Sylvia Syms as Headmistress
Production
The film was shot on location in Liverpool, Twickenham in Middlesex, Oxford Circus, Bloomsbury, and St. Pancras Station in London, and on the island of Mykonos in Greece.
The film's theme song, "The Girl Who Used to Be Me," was written by Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Bergman, and Marilyn Bergman and performed by Patti Austin.
Critical reception
Caryn James of The New York Times observed, "By adding all the characters and settings that Shirley only talks about on stage, the film reveals the weakness of Mr. Russell's script as surely as if a magician's clumsy assistant had pointed a finger at a secret trapdoor. Ms. Collins brings as much energy and warmth to the role as ever, but on screen the strength of her performance is shattered by being chopped into tiny, disconnected bits." [1]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film one star, calling it "a realistic drama of appalling banality." He added, "There were moments during the movie when I cringed at the manipulative dialogue as the heroine recited warmed-over philosophy and inane one-liners when she should have been allowed to speak for herself . . . Many of the sentiments in this film seem recycled directly from greeting cards . . . If there is a shred of plausibility in the film, it comes from Bernard Hill's performance as Shirley Valentine's husband. He isn't a bad bloke, just a tired and indifferent one, and when he follows his wife to Greece at the end of the film there are a few moments so truthful that they show up the artifice of the rest." [2]
Jow Brown of the Washington Post called the film "an uncommonly warm, relaxed little movie . . . without a cloying artificially-sweetened aftertaste." He continued, "The story's a bit of romantic whimsy, but it affords a great many comfortable and comforting laughs, and may even serve as a wake-up call for some." [3]
Variety called the film "uneven but generally delightful" and Pauline Collins "irresistible." [4]
Radio Times rated the film four out of five stars and added, "Lewis Gilbert manages to retain the best of Willy Russell's theatrical devices . . . while opening out the action to embrace a big-screen atmosphere. The supporting cast, particularly Bernard Hill as Collins's Neanderthal husband, is equally convincing, with only the hammy Conti (glistening teeth and appalling accent) striking a momentary false note." [5]
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award for Best Actress (Pauline Collins, nominee)
- Academy Award for Best Original Song (nominee)
- BAFTA Award for Best Film (nominee)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Pauline Collins, winner)
- BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Pauline Collins, nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (nominee)
- British Comedy Award for Top Comedy Film (winner)
- Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (Pauline Collins, winner)
- Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (winner)
- Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (nominee)
DVD release
The film was released on Region 2 DVD on November 8, 2004, and the Region 1 DVD was released on May 1, 2007. It has audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English. There are no bonus features.
References
External links
Films directed by Lewis Gilbert 1940s The Little Ballerina (1944)1950s Once a Sinner (1950) · Scarlet Thread (1951) · There Is Another Sun (1951) · Emergency Call (1952) · Time Gentlemen, Please! (1952) · Cosh Boy (1953) · Johnny on the Run (1953) · Albert R.N. (1953) · The Good Die Young (1954) · The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954) · Cast a Dark Shadow (1955) · Reach for the Sky (1956) · The Admirable Crichton (1957) · Carve Her Name with Pride (1958) · A Cry from the Streets (1958) · Ferry to Hong Kong (1959)1960s Light Up the Sky! (1960) · Sink the Bismarck! (1960) · The Greengage Summer (1961) · H.M.S. Defiant (1962) · The 7th Dawn (1964) · Alfie (1966) · You Only Live Twice (1967)1970s The Adventurers (1970) · Friends (1971) · Paul and Michelle (1974) · Operation Daybreak (1975) · Seven Nights in Japan (1976) · The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) · Moonraker (1979)1980s 1990s Stepping Out (1991) · Haunted (1995)2000s Before You Go (2002)Categories:- 1989 films
- British films
- American films
- English-language films
- 1980s comedy-drama films
- British comedy-drama films
- American comedy-drama films
- Films directed by Lewis Gilbert
- Films based on plays
- Films set in Liverpool
- Films set in Greece
- Films shot in Greece
- Paramount Pictures films
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