The Comfort of Strangers (film)

The Comfort of Strangers (film)

Infobox Film
name = The Comfort of Strangers


image_size =
caption = Promotional poster
director = Paul Schrader
producer = Mario Cotone
Angelo Rizzoli Jr.
writer = Harold Pinter
starring = Natasha Richardson
Christopher Walken
Rupert Everett
Helen Mirren
music = Angelo Badalamenti
cinematography = Dante Spinotti
editing = Bill Pankow
distributor = Skouras Pictures
released = flagicon|Germany November 1, 1990
flagicon|US March 15, 1991
runtime = 107 min.
country = Italy
United Kingdom
United States
language = English
budget =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:10494
imdb_id = 0099292

"The Comfort of Strangers" is a 1990 film directed by Paul Schrader. The screenplay is by Harold Pinter, adapted from a short novel by Ian McEwan. The film stars Natasha Richardson, Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett and Helen Mirren.

Plot

Colin (Everett) and Mary (Richardson), a couple unsure of where their relationship is going, are on holiday in Venice where they meet Robert (Walken), a smooth bar owner who tells them stories about his abusive father and the humiliating revenge which Robert's four sisters took on both the father and Robert himself. Although Colin and Mary find Robert and his wife, the stylish and demure Caroline (Mirren) less than agreeable company, they are inexplicably, almost hypnotically drawn to the older couple, who turn out to be even more dangerous than they seem, leading to a violent climax.

Differences between novel and film

Schrader has said of McEwan's book that it is "terrific, but a little one-sided" and that he was not sure its theme - that "no amount of civilisation can overcome the fundamental hostility between men and women" - was correct. The film therefore uses Pinter's ambiguous dialogue to create a more nuanced set of characters.

Changes were also made to the character of Robert. In the book, Robert is a young thug with a gold chain and a pattern of pistols embroidered into his shirt; Schrader did not think an audience would believe Colin and Mary would go off with such a man, so Walken plays the character as a suave, Armani-suited cosmopolitan.

External links

*imdb title|id=0099292|title=The Comfort of Strangers


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Comfort of Strangers — is a 1981 novel by British writer Ian McEwan. It is one of his earlier and lesser known works, and is set in a city that is unnamed but is evidently Venice. It was adapted into a film in 1990 ( The Comfort of Strangers ), which starred Rupert… …   Wikipedia

  • The comfort of strangers — Étrange Séduction Étrange Séduction (The Comfort of Strangers) est un film américano italo britannique réalisé par Paul Schrader, sorti en 1990. Sommaire 1 Synopsis 2 Fiche technique 3 Distribution …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Rank Organisation — est une société britannique spécialisée dans le divertissement. Elle fut fondée en 1937, et absorbée en 1996 par The Rank Group Plc. Sa division cinéma distribua pendant un moment les films de la Universal au Royaume Uni. Sommaire 1 Origine 2… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Man from London — The Man from London …   Wikipedia

  • The Darjeeling Limited — Theatrical release poster Directed by Wes Anderson Produced by …   Wikipedia

  • The Kids in the Hall — For the Hip hop duo, see Kidz in the Hall. The Kids in the Hall at the 2008 eTalk Festival Party, during the Toronto International Film Festival (from left: Dave Foley, Mark McKinney …   Wikipedia

  • The Holocaust — Holocaust and Shoah redirect here. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). Selection on …   Wikipedia

  • 1990 in film —             List of years in film       (table) … 1980 .  1981 .  1982 .  1983  . 1984  . 1985  . 1986 … 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 …  …   Wikipedia

  • Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist — Theatrical release poster Directed by Paul Schrader …   Wikipedia

  • Evening Standard British Film Award/Beste Darstellerin — Evening Standard British Film Award: Beste Darstellerin Gewinnerinnen des Evening Standard British Film Awards in der Kategorie Beste Darstellerin (Best Actress). Der britische Filmpreis kürt die besten landeseigenen Filmproduktionen und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”