The Remains of the Day

I finally sat down earlier this week and watched this movie. It had been on my list of movies to watch for years. This movie has a strange draw in that it is well acted and beautiful to look at frame by frame. http://imdb.com/title/tt0107943/ Of course I think if I had seen it in theaters, it might have gone over my head a bit. It's true some movies are really meant for people who have lived a bit-not the teeny bopper set.

The tension between the main character James Steven and Mary Kenton is sometimes funny, annoying and finally painful. I won't waste time talking about the plot of this move since I think IMDB or even Wikipedia can sum it up better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Remains_of_the_Day

But it revolves around the two main characters as they work to serve Lord Darlington. The backdrop is that it is the 1930's and England is not at war yet with Germany. This part is all told in flashbacks as Steven travels in the 1950's to see Miss Kenton. The flashbacks show that the Nazi movement is gathering steam and tensions are building between the English and the Germans. Lord Darlington takes the unpopular approach of trying to work with the Nazis to keep peace and trusts them far more than he should..his behavior is intrepreted as sympathy for them in the present of the film looking back.

Later in the film as Lord Darlington travels to see Miss Kenton, his car has broken down, he is confronted by some locals at a pub. They discern from his knowledge and familiarity with political figures and leaders that he must have known the now disceased Lord Darlington. The Wikipedia description says Steven is ignorant of his former employer's mistakes in judgement-that he was led astray by friends who were fascist, Nazi and anti-semitic. That may be true of Lord Darlington. But I have no doubt that James Steven knew better-it is very clear from his reactions.

Lord Darlington is someone that Stevens respects and seems to like as a master. It is clear he values his job and takes great pride in his ability to serve according to tradition. He even endures ridicule from a houseguest of Lord Darlington when asked what he thinks of a political situation repeatedly 'He says he doesn't know' by a member of the noble class. It is very clear that he doesn't want to speak out of place.

He admits to a man that gives him a ride to fix his broken down car upon perisisten questioning-that he did work for Lord Darlington and that his master admitted on his deathbed that he had been wrong to trust his 'friends'. This admission alone is enough to show that he is not in denial but someone who is simply uncomfortable with his emotions and does not feel comfortable sharing them.

Lord Darlington holds many meetings at his home Darlington Hall between Germans, Americans and other heads of state. These meetings are crucial to the story as they explain the unfolding build up to the war for England. Mr. Farraday a congressman from the U.S. says that the English are foolish and that they need to let career politicians who are experienced with these matters deal with the problem. He is a stereotype almost of the ugly american and this could explain why his warnings are not heeded. Farraday-played by a still able bodied Christopher Reeves-cuts a shocking and fiercly intelligent figure. At the end of his speech, the camera cuts to Steven as he twitches into a move to fix the table so that he does not allow himself to show his reaction to Farraday's speech. But he is obviously affected.

The meetings also reference the transition that England is going through in the period after the 1911Parliament Act which limited the role of the artistocracy through the House of Lords. England's political system and policy actions are ham strung as it tries to figure out how to make decisions. An example of this tension acted out would be when Steven continues serving while his father dies, he hears his fathers last words that he loved his mother, until she was unfaithful to him. And that he is proud of his son, the dichotomy between serving at a state dinner of great importance while his own father dies causing him to look sick-mirrors the current political system of England.

The same tension passes back and forth between Steven and Kenton as they fall in love with each other. Kenton gives Steven the chance to tell her how he feels about her, to express his emtions. But, he always holds back to his comfort zone of practiced conservative butler behavior. Their relationship is tepid in comparison to another younger couple who both impetuously leave the hall to get married, despite not having a career path in place.

Finally, Miss Kenton in an attempt to get Steven to admit his feelings tells him that she is going to leave with another man(Mr. Benn) to start a boarding House in the Western part of the country. Her choice also seems to be about leaving the pain of working with Steven while being in love with him.

She later says when they finally meet up 'the she was miserable for years' after she left Darlington Hall. It is too late for Steven and Benn as she eventually did fall in love with her husband. Her marriage is not happy, she has been spending time away from her husband-one of the reasons Steven went to visit her-but she has learned to love her husband and has a daughter who needs her to help with a new grandchild that is soon to arrive. A brief scene between Mrs. Benn and her husband quickly dispells any notion the audience has of a chance for romance between Steven and Benn.

And in fact when Steven arrives his only offer to Benn is for her to come work with him again at Darlington Hall for Mr. Farraday. While I found myself in hope that they would get together at this point, Steven's paltry offer of a job living out the same stilted love they had before is not desireable. It is clear that Mrs. Benn may have taken the offer if not for her daughter's new child, she even says she would go into service again which would not leave room for Mr. Benn, but it must be by her daughter.

Steven's inablity to allow his emotions to come through is shown in a rather funny way as well through is interactions with Lord Darlington's nephew, Cardinal. Cardinal is a journalist and rather quirky personality, Steven comes to know him when Darlington asks him to give the man who is far too old to need this education at the time-about the birds and the bees. Cardinal turns the awkward exchange into a chance to banter with Steven. They develop a friendship as the awkward ridiculousness of the first exchange is lost.

Steven cannot at first banter at all with Miss Kenton, but by the end he obviously can do so when he chooses. One sign of his emotional retreat in a flashback when she threatens to leave is that he stops bantering and retreats entirely into his butler mode-asking her to take care of a table when she is crying instead of offering her what she wants comfort and possibly a chance at a life together.

Steven again looses his ability to banter when Cardinal in his last scene tells Steven that his uncle is a fool. Lord Darlington is currently entertaining Nazi's in his parlor to try and work with them. And that they country is going to war, we later find out that Cardinal died in WWII through Steven's conversation with Mrs. Benn.

It was impossible for me not to cry as I watched Mrs. Benn get on the trolley and say good bye to Steven. They obviously love each other and it's a tough realization that their chances ended when she left Darlington Hall and their opportunities are lost. Briefly, before she heads home they discuss the end of the day and she says 'some people think this is the best time of day, the remains of the day'. Personally, I see this phrase as meaning there is still time left in the day to do things differently and reflect on what has happened and what you have done. This metaphor relates to life in that as long as you are alive no matter how many years have passed you still have time to do things differently and to reflect on what you have done. Steven shares some emotion with Mrs. Benn and an affection for her that is honest before she leaves.

The movie is incredibly sad as it shows opportunities lost, to avoid the pain of WWII, and a great love lost. But both characters have things to look forward to at 'the remains of the day'. Mrs. Benn has a new baby to take care of and a chance at a renewed relationship with her daughter. Steven has gone to work for Mr. Farraday who by nature is the opposite of the naive, uptight, and maybe even ignorant Lord Darlington. At the end, Steven watches as a bird becomes trapped in a room with Mr. Farraday and himself, Farraday deftly catches the bird and sets it free while Steven holds the door open. Our final scene of Steven is as he watches the bird fly away. The bird is a symbol of freedom and a new begining.

I found this movie much easier to enjoy when I realized it was written by a Japanese British man-Kasuo Ishiguro. The interaction between Steven and Kenton reminds me of the Japanese culture of emotional reserve that is so unfamiliar to the West and especially Americans. It also adds to the culture of confusion that is so apparent as England changed in the 1930's.