Movie Review: ‘THE PARTY’ has fun while the world burns

Kip Mooney // Film Critic

THE PARTY

Rated R, 71 minutes.
Director: Sally Potter
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Bruno Ganz, Patricia Clarkson, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer and Cillian Murphy

Movies and plays about well-educated upper-class types acting, like buffoons at parties, have been around for just about as long as we’ve had movies and plays. Firing off some zingers at the snobby elite usually brings a sense of satisfaction, provided they land and don’t feel too hypocritical.

Sally Potter’s brief but spot-on THE PARTY is one that works. At just 71 minutes, this movie is short but never outstays its welcome. With a cast of only seven people in a single location, I was surprised to learn it doesn’t have any stage-bound roots, even if it at times it feels like a filmed play.

This group of friends has gathered at a London house to celebrate Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas), who’s just been promoted to Minister of Health. It’s big news, and she’s not the only one with it. Jinny (Emily Mortimer), has just found out she’s having triplets with her wife Martha (Cherry Jones). And that string of news inspires Bill (Timothy Spall) to reveal two shocking secrets that throw the entire night into chaos.

Throughout the evening, there are lots of tears and slaps as information from the other characters come to light. There’s also a gun, which absolutely fulfills Anton Chekov’s principle that if you show it in the first act, it has to go off in the second or third. But who uses it and against whom is part of the fun.

While the cast is uniformly excellent, the best of the bunch is Patricia Clarkson, who cynically comments on everything that comes out of every character’s mouth. It’s early, and yet this is a small film, but she’d be a solid nominee for Best Supporting Actress next year – an award she’s gotten from some British critics groups.

THE PARTY is a film of modest ambition and charms, but it’s a good time for the audience, even if it’s not for the characters.

[Grade: B]

THE PARTY is now playing in theaters.