Skip to content
The Dresser – 1983 Peter Yates
- It’s an actors showcase first and foremost and Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney are fantastic here
- 5 noms, a bit surprising, but it’s not a world-beating year from the US and UK—up for pic, director, two leads and writing—no big problem with any of those
- It’s a backstage drama- the entire thing, like say Birdman, takes place on the stage, mostly backstage, and in the bar connected
- Both actors got their “start” so to speak with Tony Richardson in the early 60’s with the “angry young man” era—we have the loneliness of the long distance runner (Courtenay 1962) and Saturday night, Sunday Morning (Finney- 1960)
- Michael Gough is in here as well but just for a quick second—Edward Fox has a larger role
- Set during WW2 and WW2 is a character
- Study of celebrity and ego—every move and nuance of both actors is so studied- and they are two just prime roles—Finney is all ego and preening melodrama and Courtenay (no shortage of melodrama here) is mincing around and voice inflections
- Finney plays much older- his “Sir” here should be 60 some and he’s 47
- It’s about WW2 and survival—but it’s about self-loathing, the Bard, class struggle/service as well
- Feels like it’s set in real time
- Great scene with Courtenay and how pleased he is with the storm he creates—there are a half dozen scenes he has there that are as good (nips of alcohol, towel on his hip, going off on Finney when Finney calls him “despairing” ) Finney is every bit his equal. He’s hilariously over-the-top. He makes a great Lear—which helps. He works himself up like a petulant child (hello to DDL in Phantom Thread) and even is caught marveling at his own brilliance a few times which is hilarious- a true diva
- A devastating death scene and the scene between Finney and his patron—the spinster
- Recommend
Drake2020-07-03T10:31:06+00:00
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
Can Albert Finney play Michael Gambon’s role in The Cook, the thief… ?
The Dresser proves that Finney has both size and volume for it.
@M*A*S*H- 100% – good match here- I can certainly see this. Finney shows some edge in Under the Volcano as well that is just a stone’s throw towards darkness from Gambon’s Albert character
Absolutely!
Would he be good in Antony Hopkins’ Merchant-Ivory roles Howards End/ remains of the day.
@M*A*S*H- This one is tougher- especially the Remains of the Day – Finney just has such a rawness to him (maybe its that breakthrough in the kitchen sink realism film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning)- but there is a bit of a working class vs. upper class (even if he is a servant) blue collar vs. white collar gulf with Finney and Hopkins
I agree that Finney is a loud actor and raw ofc but with these 2 roles in particular I see (in want of a better phrase) “British exaction” Not the same as say DDL in phantom thread but somthing similar. And Finney can do that.
Have you seen The Browning Version with Finney? Here he’s more contained and noble.
@MASH- I have not, I’ll try to get to it. You could be right, Finney can be meticulous (Murder on the Orient Express)- I just see his strengths elsewhere. By default, if I see Albert Finney in a movie and he has a desk- I assume it is messy. And by default, if I see Anthony Hopkins in a movie and he has a desk- I assume it is organized.
“By default, if I see Albert Finney in a movie and he has a desk- I assume it is messy. And by default, if I see Anthony Hopkins in a movie and he has a desk- I assume it is organized.”- loved it!
I totally got you (even before this amazing explanation). You basically mean that Finney is “abrasive” And Hopkins is “smooth”, the abrasiveness of Finney allows him to play more working class characters and smoothness of Hopkins allows him to play more high class characters. And i agree. But Finney CAN play upper class/ wealthy characters and CAN absolutely tackle the complexity of Hopkins’ role in Merchant Ivory films, I can also see The Father if Finney was alive. I think Finney is Hopkins’ equal (probably better) as far as talent goes. Hopkins apparently had great admiration for Finney , calls him Brando of british cinema says that he introduced non theatrical acting in british films. John Huston regards his work in Under the Volcano as the best performance he ever directed (and he directed some of Bogart’s greatest works).
@M*A*S*H- Yes, I caught Under the Volcano again semi recently and saw the same John Huston quote
It’s great. I’d like to get to it soon. I recently saw Tom Jones and wanna watch everything with Finney in it now.
Would you like to see Finney as a Shakespearean villain? Richard III maybe? He’d be amazing and terrifying.
@M*A*S*H- Good call- yes, I like casting choice