| BETWEEN TWO WOMEN |
 2000 –
UKDirector: Steven Woodcock - Reviewed by Linda
But it is dull. Ellen (Barbara Marten of Bob & Rose) has a lovely, intelligent, and artistically talented young son. Ellen also has a boorish manly-man husband who is frustrated with his dead-end blue collar work and his pedestrian home life. Ellen is delighted that her son has a wonderful art teacher who encourages his talents. Soon, Ellen and teacher Kathy are on a first-name basis, and spending lots of time together... with the boy always in tow, of course. Things slowly... sloooooowlllly develop between the two women. This isn't any sort of bodice-ripper, mind you. These women become close friends, and realize that this friendship is the only bright point in their lives. When outside circumstances threaten their relationship from developing any further, any momentum is snuffed out abruptly, like blowing out a candle. But don't worry, with lots and lots of patience, if you make it to the end, the story does end on a positive note. Barbara Marten and Andrina Carroll (Kathy) are both fine actresses, and make the burgeoning friendship totally believable. Ellen's face is so etched with grooves of sadness and mediocrity, that to see her face light up at the sight of her friend is truly a delight. And you can practically seen the twinkle in Kathy's eye as she sees her friend blossom in their relationship. But the two actresses alone can't lift the weight of the plodding pace of the film. Someone asked me what I thought of this movie after I saw it, wanting to know my raw, spontaneous opinion, and I blurted out, "Well, it was... nice. You know, nice in a PBS-TV-movie-from-10-years-ago kind of way. Not that there's anything wrong with that...." (as I cleared my throat and looked apologetically away). But if a film makes you sleepy only 20 minutes into the story, well, it just might be unfortunately missing that extra something that makes a movie memorable. |
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There is really nothing wrong with Between Two Women. It is extremely well-acted, as we've come to expect with British dramas. The dialogue is natural and believable. And the story captures a time and place in miserable British history with detailed clarity (in this case, a sort of bleak post-WWII blue-collar northern town, where the men work and drink and are unappreciated, and the women look lonely and spent, centering their lives around men and children).
