The Whisperers is written and directed by Bryan Forbes ( the excellent Séance On A Wet Afternoon). Adapted from Robert Nicolson's novel, it's about an impoverished elderly woman, Mrs. Maggie Ross (Dame Edith Evans), who lives alone after her good-for-nothing husband and son, Eric Portman & Ronald Fraser respectively, have long since abandoned her. Living in a run down flat in the rough part of the neighbourhood, Mrs. Ross relies on public assistance to make ends meet. She also hears voices {The Whisperers of the title} and indulges in a delusional fantasy world. A world that amazingly opens up when she discovers a significant amount of money hidden in one of her cupboards.
Tho the novel is set in Glasgow, Forbes sets the film adaptation in Manchester. Joining Dame Evans {Academy Award nominated for Best Actress/BAFTA winner}, Porter & Fraser in the cast are also Nanette Newman, Avis Bunnage and Gerald Sim. What first should be made clear is that this is no fun fantastical movie, the kind that the advertisement I read for it indicated it was going to be. This is a tough melodramatic picture that while it 's backed up my a top performance from Evans, drifts along all too happy to wallow in its borderline misery whilst offering up a rather bleak "message" in the outcome. Serious things are glossed over by leaning too much towards the dubious point that the piece wants to make. While a crims and coppers sub-plot feels forced in for impact but actually hinders the purpose of the story. Having not read the novel myself, I don't know who's to blame, Nicolson or Forbes and his team,? So although the film scores high for achieving a stifling sense of paranoia, one that is akin to poor Mrs. Ross, it none the less strangles us with intent to only then confuse its aims and deliver sub-standard melodramatics. 5/10
Tho the novel is set in Glasgow, Forbes sets the film adaptation in Manchester. Joining Dame Evans {Academy Award nominated for Best Actress/BAFTA winner}, Porter & Fraser in the cast are also Nanette Newman, Avis Bunnage and Gerald Sim. What first should be made clear is that this is no fun fantastical movie, the kind that the advertisement I read for it indicated it was going to be. This is a tough melodramatic picture that while it 's backed up my a top performance from Evans, drifts along all too happy to wallow in its borderline misery whilst offering up a rather bleak "message" in the outcome. Serious things are glossed over by leaning too much towards the dubious point that the piece wants to make. While a crims and coppers sub-plot feels forced in for impact but actually hinders the purpose of the story. Having not read the novel myself, I don't know who's to blame, Nicolson or Forbes and his team,? So although the film scores high for achieving a stifling sense of paranoia, one that is akin to poor Mrs. Ross, it none the less strangles us with intent to only then confuse its aims and deliver sub-standard melodramatics. 5/10