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The Comfort of Strangers (film)
Encyclopedia
The Comfort of Strangers is a 1990 film directed by Paul Schrader
. The screenplay
is by Harold Pinter
, adapted from a short novel of the same name
by Ian McEwan
. The film stars Natasha Richardson
, Christopher Walken
, Rupert Everett
and Helen Mirren
. It was screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival
.
) and Mary (Natasha Richardson
) are a British couple vacationing in Venice
for the second time. They are not married, but Mary has two children, who have been left at home with her mother. We are shown glimpses of a tall man dressed in white, who seems to be observing them from afar. Late one night, they become lost as they search for a restaurant. As they wander around, they meet Robert (Christopher Walken
), the British-Italian owner of a local bar. He is the very elegant-looking man in all white. Over several bottles of wine, he tells them stories about his sadistic father who was an Italian diplomat. Robert also talks of the cruel tricks his younger sisters played upon him.
After this late evening, Colin and Mary try to walk back to their hotel through the labyrinthine streets of Venice. However, they lose their way and are forced to sleep in the streets. In the morning, hung-over and hungry, they make their way to an outdoor restaurant in the square at St. Mark’s. There they see Robert, and after realizing his thoughtlessness at not guiding them back to where they stay, he insists they come back to his home and dine there. They discover he and his wife Caroline (Helen Mirren
) live in a spacious Moorish-styled apartment which is like a museum.
The purpose of Colin’s and Mary’s trip is also to revitalize their relationship, and they decide to marry upon their return to England. However, Robert and Caroline are a very mysterious couple who attract and repulse the other pair. Robert is clearly obsessed with his past. He also seems suspect of women’s power over men. Gradually, he draws them further into his influence much as a spider entraps his prey.
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
. The screenplay
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...
is by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
, adapted from a short novel of the same name
The Comfort of Strangers
The Comfort of Strangers is a 1981 novel by British writer Ian McEwan. It is his second novel, and is set in an unnamed city . It was adapted into a film in 1990 , which starred Rupert Everett, Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren and Natasha Richardson...
by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
. The film stars Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
, Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
, Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
and Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
. It was screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival
1990 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Bernardo Bertolucci *Alexei Guerman *Anjelica Huston *Bertrand Blier *Christopher Hampton*Fanny Ardant *Françoise Giroud *Hayao Shibata *Mira Nair *Sven Nykvist...
.
Plot
It is a movie about relationships between two distinct and very different couples. Colin (Rupert EverettRupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
) and Mary (Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
) are a British couple vacationing in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
for the second time. They are not married, but Mary has two children, who have been left at home with her mother. We are shown glimpses of a tall man dressed in white, who seems to be observing them from afar. Late one night, they become lost as they search for a restaurant. As they wander around, they meet Robert (Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
), the British-Italian owner of a local bar. He is the very elegant-looking man in all white. Over several bottles of wine, he tells them stories about his sadistic father who was an Italian diplomat. Robert also talks of the cruel tricks his younger sisters played upon him.
After this late evening, Colin and Mary try to walk back to their hotel through the labyrinthine streets of Venice. However, they lose their way and are forced to sleep in the streets. In the morning, hung-over and hungry, they make their way to an outdoor restaurant in the square at St. Mark’s. There they see Robert, and after realizing his thoughtlessness at not guiding them back to where they stay, he insists they come back to his home and dine there. They discover he and his wife Caroline (Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
) live in a spacious Moorish-styled apartment which is like a museum.
The purpose of Colin’s and Mary’s trip is also to revitalize their relationship, and they decide to marry upon their return to England. However, Robert and Caroline are a very mysterious couple who attract and repulse the other pair. Robert is clearly obsessed with his past. He also seems suspect of women’s power over men. Gradually, he draws them further into his influence much as a spider entraps his prey.
Cast
- Christopher WalkenChristopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
- Robert - Rupert EverettRupert EverettRupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
- Colin - Natasha RichardsonNatasha RichardsonNatasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
- Mary - Helen MirrenHelen MirrenDame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
- Caroline - Manfredi Aliquo - Concierge
- David FordDavid Ford (actor)David Ford was an American character actor known for playing John Hancock in the musical-turned-motion-picture 1776. He replaced Mark Allen in the role of Sam Evans, a widower and an artist and father of Maggie Evans on the ABC-TV serial Dark Shadows from 1966-1968...
- Waiter - Daniel FrancoDaniel FrancoDaniel Franco, a native of Los Angeles, California, was born November 11, 1971. He achieved notability for appearing in two seasons of Project Runway.-Biography:...
- Waiter - Rossana Canghiari - Hotel Maid
- Fabrizio Castellani - Bar Manager
- Mario Cotone - Detective
- Giancarlo Previati - First Policeman
- Antonio SerranoAntonio SerranoJosé Antonio Serrano Argüelles is a Mexican film director, actor, playwright and screenwriter.He graduated with a degree in Communications from the Universidad Iberoamericana. He also attended the Royal Weber Academy of Dramatic Art in England and the Odin Teatre of Denmark...
- Second Policeman