I'm not usually a fan of true-life heartwarming stories, but I happened to catch this on TV today and I was impressed.
It tells the story of the actress Patricia Neal, who has a massive stroke while still in her thirties and pregnant. She nearly dies but manages to pull through. Gradually, through speech therapy, physiotherapy, etc. and with the help of her husband, Roald Dahl, and her friends, she recovers and returns to her career as an actress.
The film is not overly slushy and sentimental, unlike many TV movies. This is mainly due to the excellent performances of the two leads, Glenda Jackson as Neal, and Dirk Bogarde as Dahl. They both portray the characters in a very convincing way, as real people with a believable relationship. Bogarde in particular gives an understated but really excellent performance. Although the film focuses mainly on the two of them, the rest of the cast provide fine support.
The direction and cinematography is also very good and understated. The realistic and stripped-down style of the film works well with the personalities of Neal and Dahl, who both come across as resilient and intelligent. The film benefits from the lack of sentimentality and overblown melodrama - it makes the situations and the people seem much more real.
This isn't a real tear-jerker, but the story is fascinating. The methods used by Dahl and the other therapists have been adopted as mainstream treatment for stroke victims, since they were so successful. The end of the film shows some contemporary (1981) footage of the real Patricia Neal helping in the rehabilitation process.
In short, while I would not necessarily bother to get this on DVD, it's well worth watching. As a TV movie, it's considerably above average, Bogarde's performance is outstanding, and the true story is very interesting.
It tells the story of the actress Patricia Neal, who has a massive stroke while still in her thirties and pregnant. She nearly dies but manages to pull through. Gradually, through speech therapy, physiotherapy, etc. and with the help of her husband, Roald Dahl, and her friends, she recovers and returns to her career as an actress.
The film is not overly slushy and sentimental, unlike many TV movies. This is mainly due to the excellent performances of the two leads, Glenda Jackson as Neal, and Dirk Bogarde as Dahl. They both portray the characters in a very convincing way, as real people with a believable relationship. Bogarde in particular gives an understated but really excellent performance. Although the film focuses mainly on the two of them, the rest of the cast provide fine support.
The direction and cinematography is also very good and understated. The realistic and stripped-down style of the film works well with the personalities of Neal and Dahl, who both come across as resilient and intelligent. The film benefits from the lack of sentimentality and overblown melodrama - it makes the situations and the people seem much more real.
This isn't a real tear-jerker, but the story is fascinating. The methods used by Dahl and the other therapists have been adopted as mainstream treatment for stroke victims, since they were so successful. The end of the film shows some contemporary (1981) footage of the real Patricia Neal helping in the rehabilitation process.
In short, while I would not necessarily bother to get this on DVD, it's well worth watching. As a TV movie, it's considerably above average, Bogarde's performance is outstanding, and the true story is very interesting.
