How About You
Encyclopedia
How About You is a 2007 Irish
film directed by Anthony Byrne. The film is based on a short story sometimes published as "How About You" and sometimes published as "The Hard Core" in a collection of short stories titled "This Year It Will Be Different" by Maeve Binchy
. It tells the story of a young woman named Ellie who is left in charge of the residential home run by her older sister, during Christmas
period. Most of the residents have gone with their families during the holidays, but four residents, known as the hardcore, remain. Their behavior will cause lots of trouble and will lead to the residence facing closure.
) residential home, Woodlane, in search of a job. Ellie has some trouble adjusting to her new job but quickly befriends a resident named Alice (Joan O'Hara
). Ellie decides to have talks with Alice and neglects parts of her job, much to her sister's annoyance. She also has trouble doing what she is told by the residents. Because of her friendship with Alice, Ellie decides to help her feel better by taking her down to the river (which is against the nurse's orders) and giving her marijuana to ease her pain. The next day, however, Ellie finds out that Alice has died.
Kate gets news that their mother had a stroke and decides to be with her. She asks Ellie to stay behind with the four residents that are staying over the Christmas holiday because Ellie and her mother do not get along. Georgia Platts (Vanessa Redgrave
) is a former actress and singer. The Nightingale sisters, Heather (Brenda Fricker
) and Hazel (Imelda Staunton
), are spinsters who moved in after spending years taking care of their mother. Donald Vanston (Joss Ackland
) is a recovering alcoholic who enjoys playing piano and used to be a judge. These four residents are driving out others with their eccentric ways. They also seem to believe that, because they pay to be there, they can act however they please.
While Ellie is watching over them, she learns more about the residents. Donald requests his breakfast in his room at 6 o'clock instead of in the dining room at the usual time at 8. After he gets upset that his order is wrong, she tells him that he can have breakfast in the dining room like everyone else. Donald reveals to Ellie that the music he plays at night is his late wife's favorite song and that he regrets not sobering up before she died.
Heather demands that she be given any letters addressed to her sister to keep from upsetting her. However, Kate neglected to tell Ellie this and she got a letter for Hazel from the postman. When Ellie goes to give the letter to Hazel in her room, she notices sketches and paintings in her room and realizes that Hazel is a talented artist. Hazel finds Ellie in her room and demands that she leave. Ellie then slips the letter under the door. It is then revealed that Heather has been writing as Hazel when Hazel's son Simon, whom she was forced to give up for adoption, tried to find her. Heather later tells Hazel that she was afraid that Simon would take Hazel away from her. Hazel then tells Heather that she will always love her and they decide to meet Simon together in the new year.
Georgia constantly asks for Ellie to make her martinis and makes frequent trips to the local pub to entertain the patrons. Georgia tells Ellie that after her husband died, she decided to get back into the theater, but realized that everything had changed since she was young. She then moved into Woodlane because she hated being alone and that abusing everyone is "part of the fun".
Ellie decides to have a Christmas dinner with the residents and they all go out to buy decorations and food (Including Hazel, who is terrified of being outside the Woodlane property). They decide to have a drink in the pub and Ellie points out Hazel's paintings hung on the wall behind them. Heather then shows everyone her talent at playing pool. They all drive back to the home while singing carols. They then have their Christmas dinner together and start to get along with each other.
The next day, Mr. Evans (Darragh Kelly), from the Department of Health, arrives and is shocked that Kate would leave residents alone. The residents band together saying that they wanted to stay and that they are a family. Donald then asks if he wants to stay for dinner, but Mr. Evans leaves, startled. He then comes back saying that he was upset because his wife just left him and he stays for dinner.
Later, when Kate returns, Heather is shown keeping a garden, Hazel is painting outside, and Donald and Georgia are handing out tea to some boys who are raking the lawn. Ellie then tells Kate that she has decided to leave and will spend some time with their mother. At the end, Donald and Georgia are dancing outside, singing How About You?
who died before the film was released.
The film that Georgia is watching in her room is Witness for the Prosecution, a film adaptation of Agatha Christie
's novel. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Georgia, is in another Christie adaptation, Murder on the Orient Express
and plays Christie herself in Agatha (film)
.
.
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...
film directed by Anthony Byrne. The film is based on a short story sometimes published as "How About You" and sometimes published as "The Hard Core" in a collection of short stories titled "This Year It Will Be Different" by Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy is an Irish novelist, newspaper columnist and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin, she worked as a teacher then a journalist at The Irish Times and later became a writer of novels and short stories.Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between...
. It tells the story of a young woman named Ellie who is left in charge of the residential home run by her older sister, during Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
period. Most of the residents have gone with their families during the holidays, but four residents, known as the hardcore, remain. Their behavior will cause lots of trouble and will lead to the residence facing closure.
Synopsis
Ellie Harris (Hayley Atwell) goes to her sister Kate's (Orla BradyOrla Brady
-Early life and career:The second of four children born to Dublin publican Patrick Brady and his wife Catherine who had appeared in amateur productions at the Gate Theatre, Brady first became interested in an acting career after reading works by Germaine Greer and Simone de Beauvoir.Brady drifted...
) residential home, Woodlane, in search of a job. Ellie has some trouble adjusting to her new job but quickly befriends a resident named Alice (Joan O'Hara
Joan O'Hara
Joan O'Hara was an Irish stage, film and television actress. She was a member of the renowned Abbey Players and performed in many plays in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, including those by Seán O'Casey, Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats...
). Ellie decides to have talks with Alice and neglects parts of her job, much to her sister's annoyance. She also has trouble doing what she is told by the residents. Because of her friendship with Alice, Ellie decides to help her feel better by taking her down to the river (which is against the nurse's orders) and giving her marijuana to ease her pain. The next day, however, Ellie finds out that Alice has died.
Kate gets news that their mother had a stroke and decides to be with her. She asks Ellie to stay behind with the four residents that are staying over the Christmas holiday because Ellie and her mother do not get along. Georgia Platts (Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
) is a former actress and singer. The Nightingale sisters, Heather (Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker
Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...
) and Hazel (Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
), are spinsters who moved in after spending years taking care of their mother. Donald Vanston (Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
) is a recovering alcoholic who enjoys playing piano and used to be a judge. These four residents are driving out others with their eccentric ways. They also seem to believe that, because they pay to be there, they can act however they please.
While Ellie is watching over them, she learns more about the residents. Donald requests his breakfast in his room at 6 o'clock instead of in the dining room at the usual time at 8. After he gets upset that his order is wrong, she tells him that he can have breakfast in the dining room like everyone else. Donald reveals to Ellie that the music he plays at night is his late wife's favorite song and that he regrets not sobering up before she died.
Heather demands that she be given any letters addressed to her sister to keep from upsetting her. However, Kate neglected to tell Ellie this and she got a letter for Hazel from the postman. When Ellie goes to give the letter to Hazel in her room, she notices sketches and paintings in her room and realizes that Hazel is a talented artist. Hazel finds Ellie in her room and demands that she leave. Ellie then slips the letter under the door. It is then revealed that Heather has been writing as Hazel when Hazel's son Simon, whom she was forced to give up for adoption, tried to find her. Heather later tells Hazel that she was afraid that Simon would take Hazel away from her. Hazel then tells Heather that she will always love her and they decide to meet Simon together in the new year.
Georgia constantly asks for Ellie to make her martinis and makes frequent trips to the local pub to entertain the patrons. Georgia tells Ellie that after her husband died, she decided to get back into the theater, but realized that everything had changed since she was young. She then moved into Woodlane because she hated being alone and that abusing everyone is "part of the fun".
Ellie decides to have a Christmas dinner with the residents and they all go out to buy decorations and food (Including Hazel, who is terrified of being outside the Woodlane property). They decide to have a drink in the pub and Ellie points out Hazel's paintings hung on the wall behind them. Heather then shows everyone her talent at playing pool. They all drive back to the home while singing carols. They then have their Christmas dinner together and start to get along with each other.
The next day, Mr. Evans (Darragh Kelly), from the Department of Health, arrives and is shocked that Kate would leave residents alone. The residents band together saying that they wanted to stay and that they are a family. Donald then asks if he wants to stay for dinner, but Mr. Evans leaves, startled. He then comes back saying that he was upset because his wife just left him and he stays for dinner.
Later, when Kate returns, Heather is shown keeping a garden, Hazel is painting outside, and Donald and Georgia are handing out tea to some boys who are raking the lawn. Ellie then tells Kate that she has decided to leave and will spend some time with their mother. At the end, Donald and Georgia are dancing outside, singing How About You?
How About You?
"How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. It was introduced in the 1941 film Babes on Broadway by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and has also featured in The Fisher King with Robin Williams. The music of the song appears in the film All About Eve...
Production Notes
The film is dedicated to Joan O'HaraJoan O'Hara
Joan O'Hara was an Irish stage, film and television actress. She was a member of the renowned Abbey Players and performed in many plays in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, including those by Seán O'Casey, Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats...
who died before the film was released.
The film that Georgia is watching in her room is Witness for the Prosecution, a film adaptation of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's novel. Vanessa Redgrave, who plays Georgia, is in another Christie adaptation, Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on January 1, 1934 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of...
and plays Christie herself in Agatha (film)
Agatha (film)
Agatha is a 1979 drama thriller film directed by Michael Apted, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Timothy Dalton, and written by Kathleen Tynan...
.
Principal Cast
- Hayley Atwell as Ellie Harris
- Joss AcklandJoss AcklandSidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
as Donald Vanston - Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
as Georgia Platts - Brenda FrickerBrenda FrickerBrenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...
as Heather Nightingale - Imelda StauntonImelda StauntonImelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
as Hazel Nightingale - Orla BradyOrla Brady-Early life and career:The second of four children born to Dublin publican Patrick Brady and his wife Catherine who had appeared in amateur productions at the Gate Theatre, Brady first became interested in an acting career after reading works by Germaine Greer and Simone de Beauvoir.Brady drifted...
as Kate Harris - Joan O'HaraJoan O'HaraJoan O'Hara was an Irish stage, film and television actress. She was a member of the renowned Abbey Players and performed in many plays in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, including those by Seán O'Casey, Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats...
as Alice Peterson - Darragh Kelly as Mr. Evans
Reception
The film was generally well-received by critics, holding a 68% "fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.