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FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (2017)
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool poster

CAST
JAMIE BELL
ANNETTE BENING
FRANCES BARBER
LEANNE BEST
STEPHEN GRAHAM
KENNETH CRANHAM
ISABELLA LAUGHLAND
VANESSA REDGRAVE
JULIE WALTERS

BASED ON THE MEMOIR BY
PETER TURNER

SCREENPLAY BY
MARTIN GREENHALGH

PRODUCED BY
BARABRA BROCCOLI
COLIN VAINES

DIRECTED BY
PETER McGUIGAN

GENRE
BIOGRAPHY
DRAMA
ROMANCE

RATED
AUS:M
UK:15
USA:R

RUNNING TIME
105 MIN

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool image

Fine performances from chemistry rich leads Annette Bening and Jamie Bell provide the right amount of heart and sorrow in Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.

During these times of sex abuse and scandal within Hollywood, it is easy to forget that even in the “good ol’ days” of Golden Age classics that such behaviour was very much prominent. One such case was that of Gloria Grahame, the Oscar winning actress of 1952 classic The Bad and the Beautiful, who in 1960 married Anthony Ray…the son of her second husband Nicholas Ray. It was also reported that their relationship began when Anthony was only 13. The ensuing scandal drove Grahame out of Hollywood, yet a career in the theatre was still strong, especially in Britain.

That is where we find a 54-year-old Grahame in Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. Directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin) and written by Martin Greenhalgh (Control), the film is an adaptation of Peter Turner’s memoir in which the British stage actor chronicles his relationship with the much older Grahame (Turner was 26 at the time). As portrayed by Jamie Bell and Annette Bening, Turner and Grahame prove to be an unlikely couple who survive all matter of challenges and surpass all matter of taboo.

The chemistry between the two solidifies a romance that is deeply felt, setting up the surprising highs and eventual lows to follow. Bening is especially superb, portraying an actress ousted from Hollywood, a mother estranged from her children, and a lover three decades older than her partner. Bening does so with a classic Hollywood poise that hides an inner turmoil which can, and does, erupt on screen to startling, and sympathetic effect.

McGuigan, known more as a director of genre fare in film and TV, surprises with the sensitive handling of this material. Never falling into mawkish sentimentality, nor establishing a judgemental gaze, Film Star Don’t Die in Liverpool has that rare element that most love stories fail to contain: a romance with heart and stakes.

 

***1/2

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