Main Cast: Blair Brown, Bruno Ganz, Bridget Fonda, Alan Howard, Michael Gough
Release Year: 1989
Country: UK
Run Time: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
As she enters middle age, expatriate American M.D. Lillian Hempel (Blair Brown) ends a long-term relationship with her actor boyfriend and embarks on a tour of European churches. After a chance encounter with charming businessman Raymond Forbes (Bruno Ganz), Lillian finds herself tempted to abandon her usually meticulous approach to romance. Fear wells up, though, and she heads back to London, where her job as a National Health physician awaits. Returning to her flat, Lillian finds Amy (Bridget Fonda), her peripatetic younger sister, who is visiting London, partying hard, and dabbling in the fashion world. Amy seems to be everything Lillian isn't: impulsive, irresponsible, and devoid of vocation. Back at work, Lillian finds herself drawn into the plight of a young man with terminal cancer, her emotional investment leading her to consider taking a stand against the toll Thatcherism is taking on Britain's health care system. Into this already complicated life comes Raymond, who has tracked Lillian to London, determined to woo and even marry her. Against her better judgment, Lillian acquiesces a bit at a time -- until a fierce row with Amy sends her spinning even faster into Raymond's alluring orbit. When Raymond disappears as mysteriously as he arrived, however, Lillian must come to terms with the choices she has made. Strapless was filmed between seasons of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Brown's cult-favorite TV series; fans of the show will notice that Molly Dodd is closer in temperament to Fonda's character in Strapless than to Brown's. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
Even independent films often reduce the dangerous alchemy of grown-up relationships to either mythic archetypes or romantic comedy clichés. Strapless, one of playwright David Hare's frequently rewarding forays into film, tracks the growth of a new relationship as it takes root in its heroine's cautious heart and extends its tendrils into nearly every aspect of her life. Blair Brown brings her usual thoughtful luminescence to the role of expatriate doctor Lillian Hempel, broadcasting her character's reticence and hopefulness subtly and meticulously through every word and gesture. Swiss-born leading man Bruno Ganz, meanwhile, is suitably grave and inscrutable as Raymond, the lover of women whose romantic nature seems incompatible with everyday life. Bridget Fonda, in one of her first major roles, proves pitch-perfect as Amy, Lillian's aimless yet emotionally in-touch sister; each pause, each flash of her eyes, suggests a gifted performer hitting her stride. Writer/director Hare attempts to integrate the story of Lillian and her colleagues' stand against the erosion of Britain's welfare state into the main narrative, but like the conflicts between Lillian and Amy, this subplot doesn't receive quite enough development. The result is a film whose vision of the interconnectedness of work, family, and romance hangs together by only the thinnest of threads. Strapless, then, isn't a perfect movie, but Hare's restrained direction, intelligent dialogue, and unorthodox approach to perennial celluloid subjects marks it as an ambitious effort whose considerable pleasures outweigh its minor failures. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Hugh Laurie - Colin; Suzanne Burden - Romaine Salmon; Camille Coduri - Mrs. Clark; Gary O'Brien - Mr. Clark; Julian Bunster - Carlos; Imogen Annesley - Imogen; Ann Firbank - Daphne Brodie; Rohan McCullough - Annie Rice; Joe Hare - Richard Forbes; Dana Gillespie - Julie Kovago; Gedren Heller - Madeleine; Spencer Leigh - Hus; Helen Lindsay - Neighbour; Alexandra Pigg - Helen; Constantin Alexandrov - Imre Kovago; Francesca Longrigg - Secretary
Credit
Martin Hitchcock - Art Director, Trevor Rutherford - Boom Operator, Mary Selway - Casting, Patsy Pollock - Co-producer, Penny Rose - Costume Designer, Rebecca Hale - Costume Designer, Christopher Hall - First Assistant Director, David Hare - Director, Edward Marnier - Editor, Charles Salmon - Location Manager, Nick Bicat - Composer (Music Score), Roger Hall - Production Designer, Andrew Dunn - Cinematographer, Rick McCallum - Producer, Ruth Halliday - Research, Clive Winter - Sound Mixer, David Hare - Screenwriter, Budge Tremlett - Dubbing Editor, Alex Scott - Gaffer, Allan Hughes - Grip, Magdelen Gaffney - Makeup Supervisor, Gillian Bates - Production Coordinator, David Barron - Production Supervisor, Gary Dawson - Properties Master, Robin O'Donoghue - Re-Recording Mixer, Annie Wotton - Script Supervisor, Rupert Ryle-Hodges - Second Assistant Director, Stephen Morley - Still Photographer, Amanda Bernstein - Art Department Assistant, Rosie Camp - Assistant Location Manager, Gordon Brown - Assistant Sound Editor, Eddie Knight - Best Boy Electric, Judy Farr - Buyer, Caitlin Rhodes - Casting Assistant, Renee Heimer - Costumes Assistant, Patrick Wheatley - Costumes Supervisor, Alan Bell - Dialogue Editor, Peter Goddard - Electrician, Stuart Monteith - Electrician, Steve Harvey - Electrician, Patricia Poole - First Assistant Accountant, Linda Gregory - Production Accountant, Marianne Ford - Set Decorator, Sholto Roeg - Runner, Jeremy Oldfield - Runner, Clair Litchfield - Set Medic/First Aid, Cordelia Hardy - Third Assistant Director, Sarah Ellis - Assistant Dialogue Editor, Grahame Peters - Second Assistant Sound Editor, J.G. Devlin - Carpenter, Martin G. Hubbard - Carpenter, Gavin Gordon - Carpenter, Pau Nott-Macaire - Carpenter, R.H. Ross - Carpenter, Nick Russo - Carpenter, Michael Fisher - Standby Carpenter, Ernest Bell - Painter, Robin Heinson - Painter
