SHIRLEY VALENTINE. Directed bg Lewis Gilbert; written by Willy Russell; produced by Lewis Gilbert for Paramount. Starring Pauline Collins. Rated R.
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Lots of soul searching and little action may sound like a prescription for a pretty dull movie. If it strikes you this way, then Shirley Valentine probably isn't your cup of tea.
But if you don't mind a movie with the leisurely pace of a conversation with an old friend, then give Shirley a try. I think you'll like its fresh, original approach to a very old problem.
The problem is the marital blahs, the empty nest syndrome, the midlife identity crisis. The sufferer is Shirley (Collins), a perky Liverpool housewife whose life isn't just in a rut; it is a rut. When a friend wins a trip for two to Greece and invites Shirley along, she realizes what she's been missing and grabs for it with both hands.
What makes Shirley Valentine engaging to watch, in spite of the trite subject matter, is Collins' acting virtuosity, the movie's unusual narrative style, and its final unexpected outcome.
Shirley Valentine is essentially a monologue (the play it's taken from, in fact, was a one-woman show). Shirley talks to the audience at least as much as she does to her fellow characters, often doing both in the same scene. This kind of intimacy, which Collins conveys very well, takes a little getting used to.
But you come to appreciate it. By late in the movie, Shirley sometimes doesn't have to talk to us. She just casts a significant look at the camera and we know exactly what she's thinking.
The rest of the cast is just as casually, effortlessly, excellent as Collins. I especially like Bernard Hill as Shirley's husband Joe and Gillian Kearney as the young Shirley. And Tom Conti, as a Greek diversion, is charming as always.
October 18, 1989