The three main stars put in stellar performances, Emily Mortimer in particular shows her true acting colours in this aged tale about class and corruption.
I love the story, the direction, the acting, and the way it shows at the end that despite all the corruption and badness in humans, one can touch another one in their life for a short period of time, and have a lasting positive impact on them for the rest of their lives.
Beautifully done and my only regret is that I can't see it again for the first time.
Add a Review
-
Boristhemoggy28 June 2018
-
Echoes of Dylan Thomas' Under Milkwood whisper throughout the deliciously slow film The Bookshop (2017), a village drama that captures the essence of old-world Britishness. If narrative action is important to you there is little to see here, but if you enjoy character portraits you will love this inconsequential tale told beautifully.
Set in a sleepy 1959 seaside port, young widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) arrives determined to overcome her grief and open a small bookshop. The town has never had a bookshop and most of the villagers don't like books anyway, except for the reclusive Mr Brundish (Bill Nighy) who reads everything he can. After pushing through a wall of petty officials the shop opens in a run-down cottage despite fierce opposition from the imperious Mrs Gamart (Patricia Clarkson). She wants the cottage reclaimed as an arts centre, so battle-lines are drawn between small-mindedness and the winds of change.
At times the story slows down so much that it almost stops, just to watch tall grass swaying in the wind or to hear leaves sighing on trees. The camera lingers in the space between words or glances, or it traverses shelves full of books with titles hinting that change is coming. Even the film's highlight romantic scene is little more than agonisingly tender moments that evaporate into the ether. Fortunately, the cinematography is up to the challenge of capturing mood and nuance as it dwells on Bradbury's dystopian Fahrenheit 451 (1953)and Nabokov's controversial Lolita (1955)to telegraph the post-war social transformation that is underway elsewhere.
Instead of pushing the narrative forward, the film prefers to dwell on archetypal caricatures of small people in small places. A smug gadabout, a banker nicknamed Mr Potato Head, a smelly fishmonger, a precocious teenager, a dithering lawyer, the snobbish and manipulative Mrs Gamart, and of course, the incurable romantic Mr Brundish. While these are portrayed with a light brush, it is Florence who holds our attention for the depth of her vanguard feminist courage and self-belief. The entire cast is well chosen, but Emily Mortimer is the film's undoubted shining star.
It might be argued that Bill Nighy is such an icon of British movies that he overpowers any given role simply by being a composite of every other persona he has ever played. In other words: he is always Bill Nighy. But that is a minor distraction in an otherwise flawlessly directed, slow-burning village drama of how books and ideas can change the world we live in. It is not recommended, however, for anyone who does not have the time or need to stop and smell flowers or watch boats sail by. -
hatsuharu5513 September 2019I do not understand how this beautiful film could have such . . . abysmal ratings. I believe it deserves more credit. Anyone with a love of literature or this style of film should definitely give it a watch and appreciate it!
-
ma-cortes11 November 2020A charming and attractive movie set in England 1959 at a small East Anglian town dealing with a stubborn woman called Florence Green : Emilio Mortimer , who attempts to create a bookshop and along the way she amasses a series of obstacles and opposition by some local powers . Then she faces off egoístic local population and other inconveniences , exception for a good-tempered and amiable lonely man : Bill Nighy who helps her . A town that lacks a bookshop is not always a town that wants one! A town without a bookshop is no a town at all.
Enjoyable and feeling drama , adding social habits of a small community at a coastal little town . The main premise results to be the following : is there a place for opening a bookshop in a small town that may not want one ¿. Concerning the peculiar life of an obstinate widow and a loner widower , both of them extremely enthusiasts of reading and books . Two solitary beings whose lives to be intersected thanks to books as Lolita by Vladimir Nabokob and notorious writers as Ray Bradbury : Farenheit 451 . Emily Mortimer is pretty good as the free-spirited entrepreneur who attempts to bring a cultural awakening and Bill Nighy is splendid as the reclusive book loving widower . Along with other secondaries as Patricia Clarson playing the polite but ruthless local grand Lady, Michael Fitzgerald , Francés Barber , James Lance , among others
Special mention for the brilliant and luxurious cinematography by Jean Claude Larrieu. As well as agreeable and evocative musical score by Alfonso de Villalonga . The motion picture was competently directed by the Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet following her ordinary feeling style . Coixet e is a fine professional , and she is sually the camera operator of her movies . Isabel is a nice craftsman who has made thoughtful and heartful films , such as : A los que Aman , Map of Sounds of Tokyo , Another me, The Secret Life of Words , Things I Never Told You , Endless Night , Learning to Drive, Elisa and Mariela . And his greatest hits were Another Me , Bookshop. She also has made some documentary and shorts as Proyecto Tiempo , Sea Aral, Espíritu de la Pintura , Marea Blanca , Marlango, Spain in a Day and a segment of París Je taim , among others . The Bookshop rating : 7/ 10. Well worth watching . Better than average . -
Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) is a widow who dreams of opening a modest bookshop in a tiny Sussex seaside town, which by 1959 is virtually cut off from the outside English literature world. Florence is kindhearted to a fault, and because she lacks that needed killer business savvy, and instead possesses great naivety by first hiring a ten (10) year old girl named Christine (Honor Kneafsey) who is physically removed from her school classroom for being under aged and gainfully employed. Florence next hires a smarmy unemployed Milo North (James Lance) who has a hidden agenda for his willingness to take the job at the pay grade that his ten year old predecessor was making, which should have set off warning bells for the naive yet generous bookshop owner Florence.
This is the story between pure goodness (Emily Mortimer) and her dream of opening a bookshop for the townspeople more than for herself and lack of want for a successful business, and the sheer vindictiveness when a rich woman Violet Gamart (Patricia Clarkson) wants to remove the recently opened bookshop and replace it with a ridiculous arts center.
Florence does have a small cloister of bookshop supporters, none greater than a recluse widower named Edmund Brundish (Bill Nighy) but Florence is out matched by the social status and wealth of the vindictive Violet Gamart who takes any and all means of usurping both old and newly creative bylaws to oust Florence and her bookshop for her own vanity project, the arts center.
Mrs. Shullivan and I were both brokenhearted and ecstatic with how the film ends, so no spoilers will be forthcoming. See the bookshop for yourself and you become the critic. As for myself, I give the bookshop a 7 out of 10 rating for its warmth of story line and worthy ending for a good versus evil film. -
mmunier23 August 2020Lovely film for me. slow paced but full of meaning and reflecting society's power when it wants to reject something new and not in the order of usual expectations. It may stirs your emotions and make you wonder why some people can be so stoic but can keep their own emotion into a very reasonable check. Although you may witness some outburst but you will not see an easy surrender or long winded retaliation. I wish those who are so critical of such work make it as a personal observation instead of making themselves authority in this art. We don't all have the same taste, upbringing and education so we don't share the same appreciation.
-
sbdjones9 September 2018I really wanted to like this film. It stars 2 of my favorite female actors - Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson. It's not their fault I didn't enjoy the film since it's based on a book. The problem for me was that there seems to be a piece missing from the story. Not for one second did I believe that Clarkson's character wanted the old house to run an arts center, but there's no plausible explanation given. I haven't read the book so I don't know if that's part of the story but it certainly wasn't explained in the film. I left disappointed.
-
spookyrat125 August 2020Emily Mortimer is the over-riding presence and the main reason to see Spanish director, Isabel Coixet's adaptation of Penelope Fitzgerald's 1978 novel about a woman's struggles to bring a bit of literary culture to an English town that badly needs it. No prizes for guessing Florence Green a childless war widow, may have chosen the wrong town in settling in the seaside town of Hardborough in the county of Suffolk with the aim of setting up a bookshop in a rundown property. She encounters opposition to her endeavour from the outset and despite succeeding in the venture in the short to medium term, opposing forces exist which threaten the long term existence of her book shop.
Have no doubt The Bookshop is not a "big film", full of dramatic impact. Rather it's a small-scale, quintessentially English village type tale in the nature of British TV series such as Doc Martin. Director Coixot brings a lovely sense of place to the film, despite the fact that some of the Spanish and Northern Ireland filming locations are far beyond Suffolk. No matter! The location cinematography is stunningly convincing and the late 1950's set and art design and costuming is outstanding.
The storyline is somewhat contrived. It just never seems clear why it appears so many of the town's inhabitants are non-supportive of Florence's efforts to open up a new business, which appears to be relatively successful upon beginning trading. In the interests of story flow we just seem to have to accept that one particular wealthy woman played by a suitably oily Patricia Clarkson, has seemingly infinite influence throughout the town, local government and even at a national government level. In my corner of the world the proletariat would be rallying behind Florence's cause, not opposing her. But I digress.
Mortimer beautifully embodies the calm stoicism and focused determination of Florence Green. She's even quite entrancing, just watching her listen to other onscreen characters addressing her, or at times talking about her. Bill Nighy is restrained in his interpretation of Florence's singular adult ally, Edmund Brundish, a remote, eccentric town elder, seemingly embittered at the general population for largely unspecified reasons. Mention has to be made of Honor Kneafsey who plays Christine, Florence's part time student assistant, who really gives a thoroughly engaging performance as a smart working class family product, ready to look out over the horizon and eager for new experiences.
Bibliophiles and connoisseurs of quality English period drama will find plenty to admire in The Bookshop.Not the least being the symbolistic highlighting of much of Ray Bradbury's work, such as Fahrenheit 451 with its book-burning firemen. This is a fine story of an independent woman of integrity attempting to implement a vision, against the forces of Philistinism lined up against her. I enjoyed the little twist of the tale in the final scenes, which clarify better the use of narration during the film. -
artworks-527 May 2018I've never written a review before but am saddened and taken aback by the vitriol of certain reviewers of this masterful and subtle film. The production, the cast, and the story are all captivating and moving. I needn't go into a synopsis of the story as others have more or less done so. I will say that it is a big "little" film that tells of small town politics and human dynamics with great compassion and sensitivity. It also tells an honest story of what all too often happens to an outsider. Book lovers will especially appreciate it.
-
THE BOOKSHOP boasts stunning photography, good looking actors, acting of a very competent order, and equally competent direction but, after two hours of watching so much beauty and possibly avoidable drama, all I was left with was this question: so what?
-
ian-horn129 May 2018I wanted to like this film, I really did. Its nicely set, the costumes and the feeling of the time and place are quite accurate. The story is ok. Its just so very flat a film. I don't mind slowly paced films, but to make up for the lack of pace they need to be charming, or witty, or nuanced.....or at the very least original. All through this film I thought of Chocolat. Similar premise in both, but Chocolat is better scripted, acted and directed. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with The Bookshop, it just underwhelms. Maybe I should have watched it on a lazy Sunday afternoon, it passes the time harmlessly. A bit like a BBC period drama.
-
Once again, I see criticism of a film because it moves to slowly. It a modern curse. I looked one day and found that 25 percent of the films available were based on comic book characters. Most of them involve the same tired martial arts, with overdressed villains who are going to destroy the world. I like escape and enjoy good adventure too, but this is what mainstream cinema seems to have become, so when something introspective comes along it is seen as boring. We've given up the effort to look into the souls of people. Here is the story of a good woman who becomes victimized by a cruel town led by a rich, narcissistic human being. It is slow moving but the message is really striking. Emily Mortimer has so much emotion in her face and manner. For those of you that gave this a single point, perhaps she should have used a round kick and snapped off the old lady's head.
-
jordanand948 September 2018Saw this film last night, my expectations being relatively low, as I had no idea really what it was about. Having seen it now, I can honestly say it is a film any indie film lover should watch.
The movie itself is rather gorgeous and I was hit with a rush of nostalgia for European films set in a similar era, this film being set in 1950s England.
A movie like this is important because it reminds its viewers to chase their dreams, no matter how outlandish and preposterous they may sound. Emily Mortimer's idea of opening up a bookshop leads to much controversy in her little town, but her determination to get what she wants and her love of books is unmatched. Bill Nighy does a fantastic job as her biggest client, and adds humor and goodness to the movie that would be lacking otherwise.
Admittedly, I did lack interest in the film here and there, but it was a good watch overall. -
iantrader21 June 2018I love books and I love Bill Nighy and Emily Mortimer and they play to their strengths in this charming period piece about vindictive English small-mindedness.
However, I'm sure the book was far better than the movie - god save us, as ever, from writer/directors! - as the screenplay doesn't quite come off and some of the characters'' lines don't flow or hang together terribly well. The pace is slow but not painfully slow apart from those sections with songs which do absolutely nothing except make you wish they'd end!
The period setting is wonderful but not enough to carry the movie. The inevitable ending is heavily telegraphed in the first part of the movie - c'mon Coixet! But I did love the Ray Bradbury references.
I was charmed by the idea and setting but if you're not a book lover or a particular fan of the actors - really?? - you may not get much out of it. -
Books, The Best Weapons in the World. And they're a weapon of mass destruction under Isabel Coixet's direction in "The Bookshop". Set in late 50's England, this is one woman's battle to open a bookshop. Emily Mortimers' Florence Green is pitted against the towns Social Matriarch, Violet Gamart, played by Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson. The Bookshop is based on Penelope Fitzgerald's novel and narrated from her point of view as a child in this charming seaside Village. Award winning British Character actor, Bill Nighy steals every scene he's in. So many books, so little time.
-
krburditt11 March 2019I thought this move was a study of beauty and petty cruelty. How friendships can come from unexpected places. Having just read the Summer Before The War I was primed to understand how small town leadership could judge and frustrate an independent outsider, and woman at that. I also could see how the outsider was drawn to the place by its beauty and that beauty brought peace and solace. After all the protagonist could have opened her shop in a larger town where the income would be better and the opposition less. It was love for this place that made her stay and fight. I was also stunned at the end by the all out efforts of the local doyenne to not just stop the bookshop, but crush the protagonist socially and financially. It seemed unnecessarily vindictive when a local boycott could have ended the shop as effectively. I do understand how the protagonist didn't fight back harder, she stood her ground as long as she could until overwhelmed by the sheer volume of obstruction. I don't quite buy selling Lolita though. Could such a small community really support 250 copies of such a controversial novel? Wouldn't several local organizations have been at her door demanding it be taken off the shelves? Ray Bradbury would have been edgy enough. And the end, when the young girl exacts her revenge on her community. The cinematography was gorgeous.
-
jrarichards24 November 2019Deriving from Penelope Fitzgerald's seemingly semi-autobiographical book (she once kept a bookshop in Suffolk), Isabel Coixet's award-showered "The Bookshop" would seem to have a lot going for it. It looks pretty at all times, and has classy performances from Bill Nighy as the slightly mysterious Mr Brundish and Emily Mortimer as our heroine Florence Green. Indeed, when the pair appear together on the beach, an elegantly-dressed and poised Mortimer's perceptibly slow move towards Nighy, before he takes her hand and kisses it - is moving, erotic and right from every point of view, deftly portraying something that goes beyond trivial affection or even love (they hardly know each other, really) in the direction of something really profound and truly sweet. It's a tiny moment, but for me an absolute highlight.
Ironically, another Nighy-Mortimer moment risks absurdity, when she goes to tea with him, they talk about serious matters, and then she politely thanks him for delicious things, having patently not eaten anything at all! Just as the tiny touch between these actors referred to above means so much, so this stupid tiny failed touch takes so much away. Real people in real situations DO NOT do those things, and it hurts to see it portrayed as if they did...
Unfortunately, much of the rest of the film does not quite match up either. If it's working to achieve the adjective "gentle", "melancholy" or "warmly nostalgic" in it's description, it fails somewhat on all counts, as moments of lightness or even pseudo-comedy intersperse with sadness or frustration and meanness, and in the end the piece DOES NOT know what mood it really wants to capture. Dialogue often seems stilted (a few passages even irrelevant), and all the more so when delivered in over-practised and not-quite-authentic accents. Northern Ireland looks great, but it is not Suffolk; and Barcelona is not London.
Sadly, the story is also a problem. Many people don't quite seem to act rationally, and the overall level of meanness (while conceivably authentic for the time and place), gives the film an atmosphere that strays perilously close to the meaningless, not the soulful. "Why did I bother?" MUST be a remark hovering close to the watcher's lips, and that's a shame.
On the plus side, "veteran" of the BBC's "Our Zoo" Honor Kneafsey does VERY well as the somewhat-precocious girl Christine Gipping (ultimately actually the presenter of the whole story - and the ultimate decider of its fate - hence a more critical character than we even imagined). However, Honor was good "at the Zoo" too - and that was back in 2014, so no surprises there. In contrast, Oscar nomination notwithstanding, American (why?) Patricia Clarkson DOES NOT do enough to either please or put off, as her role requires.
Ultimately, the sad-but-true warning is that Brits making a British film are likely to have a slightly surer touch than was on show here, despite the odd successful moment of meaningful beauty... -
paradarahogan1 July 2018If you're into 'action movies" then forget about "The Bookshop" but if you're into dialogue and reading then you'll enjoy this fine movie. The characters are quite unique and enjoyable but it is undeniably slow. For all that, it's most enjoyable - especially for Irish people who will enjoy the shots of Strangford / Portaferry.
This movie has lots going for it. Emily Mortimer has lots going for her in the lead role of Florence. Bill Nighy and Patrica Clarkson are excellent in their supporting roles. James Lance (whom I loved on "Alan Partridge") is great as the disreputable local knob. Honor Kneafsey is excellent as the 13-year-old child friend of Florence who was working in her bookshop.
I was waiting for the classic happy ending but (beware of spoiler!) it's not here. It is the classic story of the new woman taking on them local, small-town establishment and how it's hard to fight against wealth and high-level networking.
Altogether, an enjoyable (if slow-moving) movie. Book Club members will enjoy it. -
People who love film often love reading, and this jewel of a movie delivers a treat. How can a movie go wrong with Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy? They develop a relationship with few words but common principles. Patricia Clarkson is cast in a role that uses her acting expertise to its full advantage. I am grateful to have found this movie.
-
tm-sheehan31 August 2018Not all movies have to be great blockbusters and make a fortune for the production companies and this delightful film is probably one of them. It has a heart and a bittersweet message about humanity in general . Emily Mortimer is perfect in the role of Florence Green the idealistic widow whose passion is books , her bookshop and the memories of her husband killed in the War. Patricia Clarkson as village matriarch and vindictive smiling assassin and Bill Nighy as Edmund Brundish give terrific performances. Bill Nighy especially is superb as the reclusive bachelor , who befriends Florence and is drawn back to the human race by her courage. His role is not big and probably only 15 minutes of the movie but his performance is riveting. His character reminded me a little of a male version Miss Haversham in Great Expectations because of his remoteness and the pain of life's disappointments and his dislike of the human race. I want to read the book as I have a feeling the book is better than the movie but saying that I enjoyed it very much but feel it could have been better. I think it was a mistake to have a foreign director , Producer namely Isobel Coixet write the screenplay adapted from a Booker Prize winning novel by English author Penelope Fitzgerald as the film has a Foreign feel about it and seems to me lose some of the subtlety and humour that a quintessential British story should have.
-
mike-499-2058714 July 2018Firstly I've got to say what a great cast this film has, from Bill Nighy as the curmudgeonly old bookworm, to Emily Mortimer as the ever hopeful would-be bookshop owner. The story though, is an absolute letdown. From the moment it begins you know exactly how it's going to end. It's also flat, without tempo or any semblance of cadence. It's like watching Waiting for Godot when somebody has already told you that (spoiler alert) Godot's not coming. It is both unoriginal and uneventful, with an ending that left most of the audience in the cinema murmuring 'oh' and 'is that it?' I really can't recommend it.
-
pegoneal-6245823 March 2019Mr Brundish, in the film, states that "gods, humans and animals all have one thing in common - courage."
That was the heart of this story from beginning to end. You may not have liked that the story did not conclude as you would have liked but it was real and genuine, something we see infrequently. -
paindweller5 August 2018This was a lovely film that was steady and heart touching. Books are my favourite and this film had many of them. Wish there were more film like this nowadays and it had the touch of manners and decorum thats often lost to time. It was refreshing.
-
ericwoltersnz16 June 2018The veteran actors and picturesque setting were not quite enough to make up for the weak plot in this period drama. Emily Mortimer plays a widow who opens a bookshop in a derelict house in a tranquil English village. She is opposed by an aristocratic snob played by Patricia Clarkson who decides that the town would be better served if the house were to be used as an arts center. Bill Nighy plays the literature-loving recluse who comes to Mortimer's aid when the battle lines have been drawn. Mortimer, Nighy, and Clarkson were a joy to watch, but they didn't have much to work with. I left the cinema disappointed that the movie had only scratched the surface of what could have been a meaty portrayal of courage and determination in the face of societal prejudice.
-
elizavetarudenko13 July 2018Beautiful movie! I was really taken by the plot and acting, it felt like real life to me. But I want a little bit more from the movie than I expect from reality. And most of all I don't want to be told what's right or wrong, black or white. Unfortunately this message is very clear here. We have evil from one side and good personified by the main character. As much as I enjoyed the film I felt certain luck of depth.