A Private Function (DVD)

...town where they live. Meanwhile, a group of local businessmen have bribed a farmer to raise a pig for them on the black market, despite rationing, the aim being to throw a big party for Princess Elizabeth's wedding and impress the local government. When Gilbert's new enterprise in the town is thwarted by the businessmen, he decides to get his own back by kidnapping the pig. But once kidnapped, what is he going to do with the pig? And what will happen ...
...plays Gilbert, in what is a very convincing, if a little dull, performance. Gilbert is a hen-pecked husband, determined to do well to give his wife the lifestyle that she desires. Although the film is a comedy, and Michael Palin is known for his comic turns, this performance is not a particularly funny one - in fact, at times, it is downright depressing, because he is bullied by everyone he comes into conatct with. He does what is required for the ... more

Mild-mannered chiropodist Gilbert and his social ladder-climbing wife, Joyce, are desperately trying to make their mark on the small town where they live. Meanwhile, a group of local businessmen have bribed a farmer to raise a pig for them on the black market, despite rationing, the aim being to throw a big party for Princess Elizabeth's wedding and impress the local government. When Gilbert's new enterprise in the town is thwarted by the businessmen, he decides to get his own back by kidnapping the pig. But once kidnapped, what is he going to do with the pig? And what will happen when the businessmen find out what he has done?

Michael Palin plays Gilbert, in what is a very convincing, if a little dull, performance. Gilbert is a hen-pecked husband, determined to do well to give his wife the lifestyle that she desires. Although the film is a comedy, and Michael Palin is known for his comic turns, this performance is not a particularly funny one - in fact, at times, it is downright depressing, because he is bullied by everyone he comes into conatct with. He does what is required for the sake of the film though, so although I wouldn't say it's one of his best performances, it is perfectly adequate. It reminds me very much of a role he took on two years before this one in 1982, where he plays a missionary - again, he was very mild-mannered and not that funny.

Maggie Smith is the one actor/actress that stands out for me in this film. She is superb as Joyce, a woman determined to improve her social standing, not really caring about who she steps on on the way. Her treatment of Gilbert, her husband, is reprehensible, but really quite funny. All in all, the role suits her perfectly. Liz Smith is also great as Joyce's mother, an old woman of 74 (as Joyce tells everyone) who is slowly going senile. Her behaviour becomes even worse once the pig arrives in their house - she thinks she is going mad because Joyce tells her that there is no pig, although she can clearly see one.

There is a whole host of other well-known actors in the film. Richard Griffiths is an accountant; Denholm Elliot, a doctor; Pete Postlethwaite, a butcher; Reece Dinsdale (now in Corrie as Joe), a policeman and Alison Steadman as the wife of one of the businessmen. None of them really stand out though, simply because there are so many characters involved that it is hard to work out who is who. I would personally have preferred fewer characters so that we, as viewers, could get to know each of them a little bit more - as it is, I spent much of the film trying to place the different faces, which was very distracting.

Based on a story by Alan Bennett, who also wrote the screenplay, the humour is very much as I expected - very black, very understated and very British. I can honestly say that I didn't laugh out loud once during the entire course of the film - it just isn't that sort of humour. I certainly don't think that many people outside of the British will enjoy it because of this. There are some amusing moments, particularly involving pigs and bowels, but to be honest, they weren't as funny as I had been led to believe by reviews on imdb.com. I don't think, however, it was supposed to be a great comedy or a big blockbuster, I think it is more of a satire than anything else.

Rather than a comedy, I think this film is more of an interesting look at post-war society (the film is set in 1947) when people behaved in ways that we can now only imagine. Bennett shows his strength at really getting under the surface of British life and what people can do when they are pushed. It is also an interesting look at the stupidity of the British class system and how people are ranked according to their wealth, position and background.

I enjoyed this film, but it isn't one that is going to stand out in my mind for very long. I do, however, think that it is the type of film that I could become very fond of over time - it is so understated that there are things that will suddenly stand out after repeated viewings, therefore making it more appealing. As it is, on first viewing, I was left feeling a little bit disappointed - there is nothing bad about it, it just didn't get me very excited either, and I think the main reason is that, as the lead actor, Palin's character is just too dull. Recommended, but I would wait for it to come on television rather than purchase the DVD.

The DVD is available from play.com for £3.99. There are, unfortunately, no special features at all on this DVD, although there is another, much more expensive version, that includes a couple of documentaries.

Classification: 15 (for some minor nudity)

Running time: 94 minutes 

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