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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
The best part of ex-Royal Air Force squadron leader Reggie Cunningham-Jarvis's life was obviously World War II (just ask anyone at his local pub), when he and his comrades won the Battle of Britain from the cockpits of Spitfire fighter planes. After that, Reggie (Albert Finney) married into money and didn't do much else for the next 40 or so years, except turn into his own, blustering idea of a pillar of English resoluteness. Meanwhile, a fellow veteran, Roy Southgate (Tom Courtenay), who saw the war from the ground, spent his productive years quietly as a milkman, devoted husband, and tragically failed father. When the wives of each of these men die on the same day in the same hospital room, an unlikely bond is established, leading to an experiment in shared housing with a spurious yet, for Reggie and Roy, somehow comforting class division between them. This very rewarding British comedy-drama, based on a novel by Angela Lambert, is rich in character, beautifully crafted dialogue, and vital performances from two of the finest actors in the world. Just to gild the lily, Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous) is cast as one of the most sympathetic gold diggers in film history, but the real hook here for movie fans is the reuniting of Finney and Courtenay in roles not terribly dissimilar to those they played in the 1983 hit The Dresser. Not just for Anglophiles, A Rather English Marriage is a touching, vigorous delight. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The best
Film doesn't get any better than this, in a splendid production.
Ignore the popcorn movies and have yourself a real treat, watching truly great actors doing what they do best.
Capable of Murder
Rating: - Beautiful, sensitive drama
When ex-RAF fighter pilot Reginald Conyngham-Jarvis (Albert Finney) and former milkman Roy Southgate (Tom Courtenay) both become widowers within minutes of each other, an unlikely bond between them begins to form. Both men are from the opposite side of the social spectrum, Reginald, verbose, and self confessed womaniser, nevertheless less fond of his late wife, no idea of domesticity,and Roy the dedicated husband, never looked at another woman, more outwardly gentle and caring, both begin to share ... Read More
Rating: - A little gem of a film
A story of two RAF World War II veterans who lost their wives in the same hospital on the same day, the film hatches into a work of reminiscence, mourning, moving on, deceit, and edges into a seemingly teasing plot of "what goes around comes around." Womanizing Squadron Leader Reggie invites the prudish and submissive Southgate to take over domestic duties and become a companion at the encouragement of a very sweet social worker. Whether dealing with the golddigging Joanna Lumley (remember Patsy from ... Read More
Rating: - An Excellent Movie
A Rather English Marriage was truly one of the best movies that I have seen in a while. Joanna Lumley is terrific as Liz and is absolutely effervescent. Without giving the entire story away, the plot was basically about 2 older men who come together after their wives die. Then a woman comes into the life of Sgt. Major and her motives are questioned. Not that the ending was disappointing, but I was just personally disappointed because the ending wasn't as , well...happy as it could have been. Oh well, ... Read More
Rating: - The classiest TV movie in years.
It's easy to see why this movie won several TV British Academy Awards (BAFTAs). The acting is superb from all the actors (even down to the bit players), the music is superb, and the writing and direction are first-rate. The ending is also the best in any movie I have ever seen, and comes round too soon. For me, the story is about the relationship between two heterosexual men following the death of their wives - and how they both come to terms with their bereavement. Tom Courtney's Southgate (which ... Read More
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