The Servant (1963)

The Film

The first of three films that Losey would make based on screenplays by the British writer Harold Pinter, The Servant is adapted from a 1948 play by Robin Maugham and retains its key theme of an aristocratic man being mentally overwhelmed and overpowered by his manservant. As with Pinter's other two works for Losey, the key word here is subtlety and the first half of the film builds up the storyline through only the merest suggestions and hints of something being amiss - making the bathroom sequence in particular, which avoids any trace of subtlety, quite shocking, if only to see just how far the balance between master and servant has changed. Although quite slow, the film never manages to drag during these early scenes but instead builds up the characters very well. The second half after Barrett is asked to come back completely changes tack, becoming stranger and stranger until the completely surreal climax that would be notable even in a Jess Franco film.

The one scene in the film, during the first half, that does not work quite as well as it could have done is a short sequence set in a restaurant where Hugo and Susan are dining and where the script focuses on two other tables in the room to show us the characters and some dialogue - the purpose seems to be to show that the main characters are part of a real world, and only a small part, however the focus on a foul mouthed Catholic bishop seems to be merely a cheap shot at the church or an attempt at some light humour, neither of which particularly suit the film and rather detract from the scene.

As usual, Joseph Losey's direction is absolutely magnificant and in his penultimate black and white film he again shows his mastery of the format with some stunningly artistic images and lighting. His direction towards the climax suits the action perfectly and he adeptly switches from social realism to his own brand of European surrealism. An appropriate contemporary soundtrack gives the film a very strong backing.

 
A decade after first working with Losey on Sleeping Tiger, one of the films that helped establish him as an actor, Dirk Bogard works again with the American director and gives another superb performance. Throughout his career Bogard had to switch between playing upper-class academics and officers, and playing the working class - here he is the latter, with a Midlands accent and looking very fitting in a flat cap. James Fox (brother of fellow actor Edward Fox) plays Tony and is particularly well cast, managing the authentically effortless upper-class attitude that one would expect from the character. Wendy Craig and Vera Miles give two very contrasting but effective performances in the female roles. Patrick Magee gives a brief but memorable appearance as the Catholic Bishop.

Powerfully written, with an almost flawless script, The Servant is boosed by a top notch cast and an amazing display of directoral talent from Joseph Losey. Highly recommended to fans of the director and cast, it will certainly appeal to fans of the European New Wave and art-house cinema in general.

In brief:

The DVD

Summary

• A powerful drama with a strong cast, great script and superb direction as ever from Joseph Losey. Highly recommended.
  

• A perfectly solid DVD release with good looking print and an interesting selection of bonus features.
  

Links

• IMDB entry

• DVD Rewind - DVD version comparisons

• For explanations of technical terms, see the DVD Dictionary.

All text in this review written by Timothy Young - 18th October 2008.
Text from this review not to be used without authorization.

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