Main Cast: Peter Sellers, Sinéad Cusack, Jeremy Bulloch
Release Year: 1970
Country: UK
Run Time: 116 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
A woman who is blackmailed by her boss discovers his plans are not at all what she imagined in this low-key comedy-drama. Benjamin Hoffman (Peter Sellers) is a businessman who has eyes for a secretary working in his office, Janet Smith (Sinead Cusack). Smith is engaged to marry a man named Tom Mitchell (Jeremy Bulloch), but when Hoffman learns that Mitchell has a criminal past and is wanted by the law, he makes a startling proposal to Smith -- he'll turn her fiancé in to the police unless she agrees to spend the weekend with him. Smith sees little choice but to agree, but arrives at Hoffman's door imagining the worst. However, to her surprise she discovers Hoffman is a desperately lonely man who wants to be loved, and he demands almost nothing of her but her companionship. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Hoffman is the tale of an older man, played by Peter Sellers, who invites a young lady to his flat in England for a sexual liaison. As the film progresses, it is revealed that Sellers' character caught one of his workers dealing in a scam, and decided to blackmail the man's lovely fiancée away for a full week to convince her to fall in love with him. Mostly a drama, the film has an almost terrifying performance by Sellers, involved in intricate mind games with the other protagonists.
Reportedly, Sellers despised Hoffman because the lead character too closely reflected his own personality.
Notable for the haunting music by Ron Grainer, and as one of Sellers' few 'straight' performances.
