WHY I LOVE THE MOVIE 'THE REMAINS OF THE DAY'

One of my all-time favorite movies is the Merchant Ivory production of 'The Remains of the Day'. I have read the book but I believe the movie is a much beautiful adaptation, thanks mainly to screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Here are some reasons why I love this movie -

1. The superb acting. The tension between Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson (who both got Oscar noms for this movie) is really palpable and there are several scenes which show this fantastic interplay. My favorite scene though is that of the 'book'. Nothing like a scene about curiousity that can pique one's curiousity.

2. The luscious and beautiful production design. This is after all, a Merchant Ivory production - they are known for lavish and meticulous art direction and costumes and tasteful production design.

3. The clever adapted screenplay. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala deserves her Oscar nom for this. She was a previous winner though for Howard's End. It's not easy to write about British snobbery and the clear delineation of the classes yet Ruth crystallizes everything very clearly and wittily, at that!

This is also the last movie I saw of Christopher Reeve's before his horse accident. He does hold very well here, the only American in a big cast of Europeans. His character needs to be forceful and he did it very well.

It was also great to see Hugh Grant in a non-romantic role. People handling the guy's career should remind him of his role here, 17 years ago. He did this very well, and it's a pity he has resigned himself to just doing romcoms. If given a good part in a non romcom, he can actually sink his teeth on it and impress us all!

Finally, this is also the first movie where I saw Ben Chaplin act. He looks fine here and although he only has a small role, he makes it memorable! I love the way he kisses the girl in the movie! Wishes it was me!