Willy Russell proved he had talent when he wrote Educating Rita. It was apparent he knew how people coped and dealt with things, and also how they felt about others and themselves, even. Willy Russel, in Shirley Valentine, writes about a woman who wants to be who she was. Not looks wise. Not hair wise. Not even boobs wise! No, she just wants to be able to be that woman again in her heart, and be Shirley Valentine once again. Shirley Valentine is one of those deep, light-hearted films for everyone. It’s a lovely tale, but it’s got a heck of a story or two, and it’s an absolute gem. It was performed on stage for a while, and it was a big hit there, as well (Willy Russel also wrote the stage play).
Shirley Valentine will touch anyone who has a heart. It’s a woman who wants to be who she was. Someone who was she, before she was what she is now; someone who can live life to the full…

♦ ♦ The Plot ♦ ♦

Shirley has been married to Joe for many years. She got married. Moved into a new home. Had kids, and that was it. It seemed as if her life stopped and she didn’t have anything to do.
After a while she begins to talk to the wall and that’s how we are introduced into the film. Even though she’s talking to the camera, she’s talking to the wall as well, if you get me! We, the audience, are the people watching her talking to the wall. And it seems, the wall is her only friend.
Shirley recalls with us some of the things she did when she was younger, when she was unmarried and single with her maiden name Valentine. Shirley begins to miss that life of beings free and single. Not the fact she could have a boyfriend, not that sort of free, but a sort of freeness that could let her go anyway at anytime and not for anyone else, but herself.

She’s fed up with her marriage to Joe. He demands a meal on the table at 6pm sharp, and it has to be the same each day of the week. He's stuck to a schedule and doesn't have a spontaneous gene in his body. When Shirley gives him Chips and egg on a Thursday, he goes bonkers, because Chips and egg is supposed to be on a Tuesday and Steak on a Thursday! That’s the sort of life she leads. Stuck to a schedule with arguments, and having to do the same day in day out. When Jane, her best friend, suggest going on holiday to Greece for free, she declines, but after a while she changes her mind. Maybe she can become Shirley Valentine in Greece...

♦ ♦ Performances ♦ ♦

Shirley needed to be played in a special sort of way. She needed to be tough, but she also needed to be walked all over at times as well. Her character was very difficult to understand, let alone play! Pauline Collins isn’t the best of actresses, but she just clicked whilst playing Shirley, and I don’t believe there was a better person to play her. She managed to be serious when it was needed, and also managed to be comical. She was perfect to play her.

Shirley Valentine, even though it’s a very poignant film, is mostly a comedy, because there are a few laughs along the way. Pauline, in my opinion, is the funniest in the film, because she manages to be comical without trying! Pauline Collins also managed to make us pity her at times. Trying to make someone pity you as a character in a film is extremely difficult, but Pauline managed to do it very well. She managed also, to show us the difference between Shirley Valentine, and Shirley maiden-name-Valentine. She got an Oscar nomination for her role, and it's a crime she didn't get it.

Most of the other actors didn’t play big roles in the film. The others were just there to build Shirley’s life to a full. They do play their parts well, but it’s irrelevant in a way, because Shirley is so important in the film. The best actress in the film, by far, is Joanna Lumley. She’s funny, glamorous and as stunning as ever. She plays Shirley’s old school enemy and someone Shirley used to be pretty horrible to! Joanna Lumley is in about seven minutes of the film, and only has about 50 words said in the whole film. That’s what’s so brilliant about Shirley Valentine. A little character, which plays a small part in the film, can make the film so much better. And she did.

The storyline of Shirley Valentine is what makes the film, but the acting is an added bonus to enjoy. A good British cast who make the film that bit better in their own little way.

♦ ♦ My Thoughts ♦ ♦

Shirley Valentine, in my opinion, is very much alike Educating Rita. As they are written by the same writer, they should have some similarity, but I feel they are actually exactly the same.
Rita wants to become a new person. She wants to learn, and leave who she was. Shirley wants to leave the person she’s become and go back to who she was. The two women have the same sort of dreams, vice versa.

Shirley Valentine is aimed at everyone. It hasn’t got a target audience it’s just got an audience who sit there enjoying the film. What makes it that bit more special as well, is the fact Shirley talks to us. Shirley talks to the camera, and I feel that makes it that bit more special. We get to hear Shirley’s thoughts, and it makes the film more personal, and more entertaining. Because Shirley is so down to earth, we feel so comfortable with her.

What I didn’t like about the film was the look backs on Shirley’s youth. I feel, we didn’t see enough of the Shirley Valentine she was, to see what she wanted to be again. Eve though there were flashbacks, I feel if she’d have told us what she thought, it would’ve been so much better
This is the only bad thing about Shirley Valentine. It is such a good film, and at times it’s so sad to watch. A woman just wants to be who she was, but somehow can’t reach there, and isn’t allowed. As I’ve already said, whoever you are, whatever you feel, watch Shirley Valentine. It will change your views on life, and how you judge people; it certainly did mine.

© Matt Roberts 2003.