Main Cast: Harold Pinter, Glenda Jackson, Ben Kingsley, Richard Johnson, Michael Gambon, Rosemary Leach
Release Year: 1985
Country: UK
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Adapted by Harold Pinter from the novel by Russell Hoban, Turtle Diary stars Glenda Jackson as a famed author/illustrator of children's books. In the midst of her success, Jackson suffers from writer's block. While casting about for new ideas, she makes several visits to the turtle tank at the local aquarium, where she becomes acquainted with shy bookstore clerk Ben Kingsley. From this point on, nothing is in the least predictable. What can one say that's sensible about a plotline that climaxes with a turtle hijacking? Screenwriter Pinter has a cameo role as "Man in Bookshop." Turtle Diary was the maiden effort of United British Artists, a consortium consisting of Glenda Jackson, Harold Pinter, and producer Richard Johnson (who also appears in the film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Superior acting and a droll Harold Pinter script highlight this film about three Londoners planning a heist. But the booty isn't money. It's three giant sea turtles swimming in endless despair in an aquarium at the London Zoo. Writer Neaera Duncan (Glenda Jackson), bookstore clerk William Snow (Ben Kingsley), and zookeeper George Fairbairn (Michael Gambon) join forces to liberate the turtles -- and, in so doing, liberate themselves from their mundane lives. Touches of subtle humor, as well as oddball characters and intriguing subplots enliven the drama. For example, apartment dweller Snow has an ongoing war with neighboring tenant Sandor the Slob (Jeroen Krabbé) over the frightful condition in which Sandor leaves the shared bathroom and kitchen. There is tragedy, too; another apartment dweller, a lonely middle-aged woman, commits suicide. Unlike the turtles, she had no saviors to rescue her. The action rises slowly as Pinter teases the plot to life and the turtle-nappers design and execute their grand scheme. Yes, there is time for romantic interludes, but who will end up with whom -- minor characters are in the running -- remains a question. And what of the turtles? Will they adapt to the sea after spending 30 years in captivity? The ending of the film provides the answers. It also resolves the issue of Sandor the Slob's dirty bathtub in a rough-and-tumble fight to the finish between him and Snow. Distinguished actors Nigel Hawthorne and Richard Johnson make brief but memorable appearances as friends of Jackson's character. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Eleanor Bron - Miss Neap; Harriet Walter - Harriet; Jeroen Krabbé - Sandor; Nigel Hawthorne - Publisher; Michael Aldridge - Mr. Meager; Peter Capaldi - Assistant Keeper; Chuck Julian - American Man; Pauline Letts - Woman in bookshop; Tony Melody - Garage Man; Gary Olsen - Lorry Driver; Harold Pinter - Man in Bookshop; Barbara Rosenblat - American Woman
Credit
Diane Dancklefsen - Art Director, Judith Lang - Art Director, Susie Figgis - Casting, Elizabeth Waller - Costume Designer, John Irvin - Director, Peter Tanner - Editor, Geoffrey Burgon - Composer (Music Score), Leo Austin - Production Designer, Peter Hannan - Cinematographer, Richard Johnson - Producer, Peter Snell - Producer, Harold Pinter - Screenwriter, Bill Darrid - Screenwriter, Russell Hoban - Book Author
Two lonely Londoners - Neaera Duncan, a children's author (Glenda Jackson), and William Snow, a bookstore assistant (Ben Kingsley) - find common ground when visiting the sea turtles at London Zoo; independently of each other, both perceive that the turtles are unnaturally confined, and they hatch a plan with the assistance of zookeeper George Fairbairn (Michael Gambon) to smuggle them out and release them into the sea, which they ultimately succeed in accomplishing. Their release of the turtles represents metaphorically their release of themselves from their own inhibitions.[2]
Main cast
Glenda Jackson, as Neaera Duncan, a "Popular children's author … fearing her creative talents have evaporated, [who] escapes into the dreamy world of sea turtles seeking inspiration in their beauty and grace."[2]
Ben Kingsley, as William Snow, "a humble assistant in a bookstore where he, too, dreams of the turtles."[2]
Richard Johnson, as Mr. Johnson, a neighbor of Neaera Duncan
Michael Gambon, as George Fairbairn, the zookeeper charged with caring for the turtles
Jeroen Krabbe, as Mr. Sandor, a neighbor of William Snow
Rosemary Leach, as Mrs. Charlie Inchcliff, another neighbor of Neaera Duncan
Eleanor Bron, as Miss Neap, a neighbor of William Snow
Harriet Walter, as Harriet Simms, a colleague of William Snow at the bookstore
According to its description at Amazon.com, Turtle Diary has been "Critically hailed as a mini-masterpiece."[2]
In his 1985 Sunday Telegraph review of the film, Castell observes that Pinter's screenplay concentrates on developing dialogue and plot, leaving clues for the actors to convey their characters' subtle emotional and psychological development: "It is hard to think of two actors better matched to play Pinter than Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley. They milk every nuance, point up every missed beat and relish each irony and repetition in the script. … Turtle Diary is a fine film that charts movingly the unnoticed despair of everyday lives, the sufferings of those who endure loneliness in silence."[1]
Apart From That ·Applicant ·The Black and White ·Dialogue for Three · "God's District" ·Interview ·Last to Go ·The New World Order ·Night ·Precisely ·Press Conference ·Request Stop, Special Offer ·That's All ·That's Your Trouble ·Trouble in the Works
