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Apr 03, 2017Nursebob rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
All the world is indeed a stage in director István Szabó’s charming adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s novella, and his immaculately primped protagonist glides through it as if she never left the theatre—unconsciously quoting lines while trying to hold an actual conversation and shocked to discover real tears on her cheeks as she feels genuine emotions for perhaps the first time in decades. Glittering sets and a shamelessly romantic score by Michael Danna, punctuated here and there by Cole Porter and Noel Coward, set the mood perfectly while Bening’s Oscar-nominated performance—culminating in a hilariously theatrical revenge—makes this an actress’ film through and through. Lambert may have her weaknesses but her years of experience and innate sense of self-preservation prove more than formidable for anyone trying to cross her—including a young upstart who fancies herself the next big star only to discover the reigning queen is nowhere near ready to abdicate. An ebullient celebration of one woman coming into her own whose humour is both thoughtful and intelligent and whose occasional forays into pure fancy (Michael Gambon plays Julia’s dead mentor who still coaches her from the sidelines) add just the right amount of magic.