Holstra Boring, long, and too preachy.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

grabberlime Finney & Courtenay are teamed again in this tale of two widowers who are drawn together by a well meaning social services worker.Finney seems at first coolly detached from his loss, while Courtenay is the far more visibly shaken of the two. Finney is essentially left with a lifetime interest in his home and a small annual stipend by his late wife. Courtenay needs companionship. The social worker brings them together in a marriage of convenience.Finney assumes the role of the master of the house and Courtenay essentially the man servant.For those who enjoyed the pair in 1984's The Dresser, Courtenay calling Finney "Sir" will bring a smile to your face.As the plot evolves, we see Finney deteriorating while Courtenay steps up to the plate to assume the more dominant role. Both are forced to face tragedy again during their time together and learn to adapt.The film deals with how people deal with grief, or choose not, and in the end, how we all must make that choice.

DC1977 A modern television classic set in the Eighties, A Rather English Marriage tells the story of two recently widowed men; a brash World War Two squadron leader (Albert Finney) and a retired milkman (Tom Courtenay) who form an unlikely alliance as they come to terms with their bereavements.The two men miss their wives for totally different reasons, Roy Southgate (Courtenay) is a loyal, devoted husband who spends hours with his wife when visiting her at hospital. Reggie Conyngham-Jervis (Finney) is a philanderer who relies on his wife mainly for her cooking and cleaning skills and sees his hospital visits as time that could be better spent in the pub.When a social worker sees that each man could be the solution to the other's problems, these two characters (complete opposites plagued by personal problems they try to keep hidden) who were hospital waiting room acquaintances are now brought together full time.This is the sort of charming, well-written television drama that nobody seems to want to make anymore, the two leads forming an even more effective partnership than they did in The Dresser fifteen years earlier where Finney stole the show.Courtenay is superbly understated, Finney is more powerful and boisterous and probably the more versatile actor. Their contrasting styles complement each other perfectly.Although this is mainly a double-act, Joanna Lumley also excels as the gold-digger who has her eye on Reggie's wallet.However this drama belongs equally to Finney and Courtenay. The final scene with these two grand old men of film and theatre dancing to Glenn Miller's 'Moonlight Serenade' will surely prove to be one of the most lasting and endearing moments in British television.

lorenellroy The pairing of Courtenay and Finney,whose contrasting styles combine so well together,were brilliant in The Dresser,which makes their pairing in this drama so very welcome.They play contrasting men widowed on the same day and paired together by social services.Finney is a womanising ex=Battle of Britain pilot whose wife came from wealthy stock while Courteney is a former milkman.Courteney possesses all the requisite domestic skills while Finney would struggle to boil water without a recipe book. Against all odds and not helped by Finney's habit of assuming command they rub along well together until the arrival of Joanna Lumley a gold-digger who sets her sights on FinneyBeautifully written and impeccably played character study.It illustrates that dumbing down ,while having achieved epidemic proportions on UK television,has not yet conquered all bastions of the box.

ncdoc Albert Finny and his co lead are superb,acting at its best!!!! A story and performance to remember. I think it fits the over 50-55 year old set best. Just wonderful entertainment with brilliant script. I will see it again...and again Dr G Catapano