Bernard and Doris
Encyclopedia
Bernard and Doris is a 2007 film directed by Bob Balaban
. The teleplay
by Hugh Costello
is a semi-fiction
alized account of the relationship that developed between socialite
heiress
and philanthropist
Doris Duke
and her self-destructive Irish
employee Bernard Lafferty later in her life.
The film premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival
on October 17, 2007 and was broadcast by HBO
on February 9, 2008. It has been released on DVD
.
Doris teaches Bernard about horticulture, especially the care of orchids, and he takes control of the operation of her various households during her frequent long absences. Bernard himself enjoys tending the home and making sure things are in their correct order. The first time his sexuality is questioned is when he peers at Doris's much younger lover playing the piano in his underwear. In the greenhouse, Doris flirts with him, telling him belly dancing is a form of seduction and then performing a dance for him. Bernard tentatively informs her that he "swings in the other direction." Doris encourages him to tone down his severe dress and wear brighter colors. Doris begins to take Bernard with her on her world tours and convinces him to pierce his ear. During this time, they grow closer, and Doris begins to favor him among everyone else. Also, whenever Doris is mentioned in newspapers, we see Bernard cutting them out of the newspapers and keeping them for himself.
Doris begins to spend more time with Bernard, and at one point attempts to seduce him. When Bernard backs away, Doris questions him: "I don't get it. You don't fuck me, you don't steal from me. So what do you want from me?", to which Bernard answers, "I want to take care of you, Miss Duke."
As the two become closer and Bernard becomes more relaxed, he begins to drink again, initially with discretion but eventually to an extent that it begins to hinder his performance. Rather than dismiss him, as she always has done with employees who displeased her in the past, Doris has him committed for more rehab at her expense despite his having consumed large amounts of her expensive, vintage wines. Doris suffers a stroke, and Bernard returns to take full control of her life. In order to humor her -- and to indulge his own proclivities -- Bernard wears her makeup, jewelry, and haute couture and begins to affect a more feminine demeanor. One evening, Doris tells Bernard what she wants him to do after she dies, and a tearful Bernard promises he will perform her requests. Doris's smile fades and she tells him, "I must really be crazy to believe a fucker like you," suggesting that she still resents him for stealing from her.
Meanwhile, Bernard tries to keep attorney and economic advisor Waldo Taft away from Doris, hanging up on him whenever he calls. Taft dislikes and distrusts Lafferty enough to have offered him $500,000 to leave his position in the past. Taft calls the police to Doris's estate, but Doris tells the police officer that Bernard is only "peacefully devoted above and beyond the call of duty," prompting the officer to leave and blame Taft for being jealous. However, Taft encourages Doris to hire a live-in nurse. Although Doris's faith and trust in Bernard cannot be shaken, she agrees to hire a nurse, which Bernard is very unhappy about. Eventually, he convinces her to not hire a nurse, instead taking care of her himself and only occasionally inviting a doctor to give her checkups.
A while later, Bernard gives a very sick Doris her medicine and injection before putting her to bed, and she dies that night. Before her death, however, she appoints him executor of her massive estate. In his first meeting with her board of directors following Doris's cremation, a now obviously effete Bernard appears confident and in control, dressed in a style and acting in a manner that is peculiarly similar to Doris's at the beginning of the film. As he waters the orchids in her garden, we are told that there were accusations against him saying that he murdered Doris, but no evidence was found. We are also told, he died from complications related to his alcoholism three years later.
served as the setting for Duke's Hillsborough Township, New Jersey
estate known as Duke Farms.
Dominick Dunne
and Calvin Trillin
are seen briefly in cameo appearance
s as board members.
article, one that doesn’t leave you feeling guilty or venal or vaguely nuts for reveling in the particulars of great wealth even as you are made fully aware of all the isolating negatives."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
called the film a "stunner of a movie [that's] the hip antidote to multiplex junk such as Mad Money
and Meet the Spartans
. He added, "All praise to director Bob Balaban, who doesn't miss a beat or a nuance in bringing us in, close as a whisper, to what might have been."
Brian Lowry of Variety
called the film "a not-very-compelling two-character piece with showy moments for Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes but not much else to recommend it . . . What the movie does provide is a rare indulgence in long, quiet scenes between the leads, which serve both as a showcase for the actors and a reminder as to how undercooked the script is. For Sarandon, Doris is a slightly less shrewish version of the evil queen she just played in Enchanted, while Fiennes is a model of restraint . . . One can see why HBO would gamble on such a modest pickup based on the names attached. Still, much of what passed privately between employer and servant remains shrouded in mystery, and Bernard and Doris is ultimately unsatisfying in filling those gaps - real, imagined or otherwise."
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer "Bob" Balaban is an American actor, author and director.-Personal life:Balaban was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Eleanor and Elmer Balaban, who owned several movie theatres and later was a pioneer in cable television...
. The teleplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Hugh Costello
Hugh Costello
-Career:Costello made his name in radio and television . He also wrote the short film The Rope Trick as well as the feature Auto de Fe...
is a semi-fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
alized account of the relationship that developed between socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
heiress
Beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
and philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
Doris Duke
Doris Duke
Doris Duke was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist.-Family and early life:...
and her self-destructive Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
employee Bernard Lafferty later in her life.
The film premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
on October 17, 2007 and was broadcast by HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
on February 9, 2008. It has been released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Plot
In 1987, Doris Duke, considered the wealthiest woman in the world, hires Bernard Lafferty, who lists Elizabeth Taylor and Peggy Lee as former employers on his résumé, as her majordomo. He explains a six-month gap in his employment history was due to "health issues," a euphemism for time spent in rehab to deal with his addiction to alcohol. He assures Doris, who immediately suspects the truth, he is capable of performing his duties without any problems. As Bernard moves in, the viewer can quickly tell he is a little neurotic, first putting portraits of his former employers, Taylor and Lee, in his bedroom, then informing the rest of the staff he is now "Miss Duke's eyes and ears" and demanding they listen to him. Despite Bernard's growing affection for Doris, the brash and often crude Doris thinks little of him, not even remembering how to correctly pronounce his name. However, their situation slowly evolves into a more emotionally intimate but non-physical relationship as Doris returns from a plastic surgery center one evening, drunk and on painkillers, and is aided by Bernard who stays with her through the night.Doris teaches Bernard about horticulture, especially the care of orchids, and he takes control of the operation of her various households during her frequent long absences. Bernard himself enjoys tending the home and making sure things are in their correct order. The first time his sexuality is questioned is when he peers at Doris's much younger lover playing the piano in his underwear. In the greenhouse, Doris flirts with him, telling him belly dancing is a form of seduction and then performing a dance for him. Bernard tentatively informs her that he "swings in the other direction." Doris encourages him to tone down his severe dress and wear brighter colors. Doris begins to take Bernard with her on her world tours and convinces him to pierce his ear. During this time, they grow closer, and Doris begins to favor him among everyone else. Also, whenever Doris is mentioned in newspapers, we see Bernard cutting them out of the newspapers and keeping them for himself.
Doris begins to spend more time with Bernard, and at one point attempts to seduce him. When Bernard backs away, Doris questions him: "I don't get it. You don't fuck me, you don't steal from me. So what do you want from me?", to which Bernard answers, "I want to take care of you, Miss Duke."
As the two become closer and Bernard becomes more relaxed, he begins to drink again, initially with discretion but eventually to an extent that it begins to hinder his performance. Rather than dismiss him, as she always has done with employees who displeased her in the past, Doris has him committed for more rehab at her expense despite his having consumed large amounts of her expensive, vintage wines. Doris suffers a stroke, and Bernard returns to take full control of her life. In order to humor her -- and to indulge his own proclivities -- Bernard wears her makeup, jewelry, and haute couture and begins to affect a more feminine demeanor. One evening, Doris tells Bernard what she wants him to do after she dies, and a tearful Bernard promises he will perform her requests. Doris's smile fades and she tells him, "I must really be crazy to believe a fucker like you," suggesting that she still resents him for stealing from her.
Meanwhile, Bernard tries to keep attorney and economic advisor Waldo Taft away from Doris, hanging up on him whenever he calls. Taft dislikes and distrusts Lafferty enough to have offered him $500,000 to leave his position in the past. Taft calls the police to Doris's estate, but Doris tells the police officer that Bernard is only "peacefully devoted above and beyond the call of duty," prompting the officer to leave and blame Taft for being jealous. However, Taft encourages Doris to hire a live-in nurse. Although Doris's faith and trust in Bernard cannot be shaken, she agrees to hire a nurse, which Bernard is very unhappy about. Eventually, he convinces her to not hire a nurse, instead taking care of her himself and only occasionally inviting a doctor to give her checkups.
A while later, Bernard gives a very sick Doris her medicine and injection before putting her to bed, and she dies that night. Before her death, however, she appoints him executor of her massive estate. In his first meeting with her board of directors following Doris's cremation, a now obviously effete Bernard appears confident and in control, dressed in a style and acting in a manner that is peculiarly similar to Doris's at the beginning of the film. As he waters the orchids in her garden, we are told that there were accusations against him saying that he murdered Doris, but no evidence was found. We are also told, he died from complications related to his alcoholism three years later.
Production
Old Westbury GardensOld Westbury Gardens
Old Westbury Gardens is the former estate of John Shaffer Phipps , heir to a U.S. Steel fortune, in Nassau County, New York. It has been open to the public for tours since 1959....
served as the setting for Duke's Hillsborough Township, New Jersey
Hillsborough Township, New Jersey
Hillsborough Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 38,303....
estate known as Duke Farms.
Dominick Dunne
Dominick Dunne
Dominick John Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist, whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways in which high society interacts with the judicial system...
and Calvin Trillin
Calvin Trillin
Calvin Marshall Trillin is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist.-Biography:Trillin attended public schools in Kansas City and went on to Yale University, where he served as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of Scroll and Key before graduating...
are seen briefly in cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s as board members.
Cast
- Susan SarandonSusan SarandonSusan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
as Doris Duke - Ralph FiennesRalph FiennesRalph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
as Bernard Lafferty - James RebhornJames RebhornJames Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
as Waldo Taft
Critical reception
Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times likened the film to "the most delectable kind of Vanity FairVanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
article, one that doesn’t leave you feeling guilty or venal or vaguely nuts for reveling in the particulars of great wealth even as you are made fully aware of all the isolating negatives."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the film a "stunner of a movie [that's] the hip antidote to multiplex junk such as Mad Money
Mad Money (film)
Mad Money is a 2008 comedy-crime film starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes, and directed by Callie Khouri. It is loosely based on the 2001 British film Hot Money.-Plot:...
and Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans
Meet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, Date Movie, and most recently Epic Movie, it directs parodies at various films. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it...
. He added, "All praise to director Bob Balaban, who doesn't miss a beat or a nuance in bringing us in, close as a whisper, to what might have been."
Brian Lowry of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "a not-very-compelling two-character piece with showy moments for Susan Sarandon and Ralph Fiennes but not much else to recommend it . . . What the movie does provide is a rare indulgence in long, quiet scenes between the leads, which serve both as a showcase for the actors and a reminder as to how undercooked the script is. For Sarandon, Doris is a slightly less shrewish version of the evil queen she just played in Enchanted, while Fiennes is a model of restraint . . . One can see why HBO would gamble on such a modest pickup based on the names attached. Still, much of what passed privately between employer and servant remains shrouded in mystery, and Bernard and Doris is ultimately unsatisfying in filling those gaps - real, imagined or otherwise."
Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film (nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film (Ralph Fiennes, nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film (Susan Sarandon, nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television MovieThis is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie, which is awarded since 1992. The category was originally called Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special.-1980s:*1980: The Miracle Worker...
(nominee) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.-1950s:*1952: Thomas Mitchell*1953: no award*1954: Robert Cummings – 12 Angry Men*1955: Lloyd Nolan – Caine Mutiny Court Marshal...
(Fiennes, nominee) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a MoviePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a MovieThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.From 1973 to 1978, the category was divided into two separate categories .Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, guest performances in regular television series were...
(Sarandon, nominee) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic SpecialPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic SpecialThis is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special.- Chronology of categories :...
(Bob Balaban, nominee) - Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special (High Costello, nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Alex Wurman, nominee)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie (Mauricio Rubinstein, nominee)
- Emmy Award for Main Title Design (Garson Yu, Synderella Peng, Etsuko Uji, and Edwin Baker, nominees)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes in a Miniseries or Movie (Joseph G. Aulisi and Autumn Saville, nominees)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Hairstyles in a Miniseries or Movie (Robin Day and Milton Buras, nominees)
- Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie (Fiennes, nominee)
- Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Female Actor - Miniseries or Television Film (Sarandon, nominee)