| Dir. Raoul Ruiz, UK, 2010, UK, 88 mins
Cast: Tom Conti, Daryl Hannah
Review by Carol Allen
This is for most of its length a two hander for Conti and Hannah, which may at times variously remind you of "Sleuth", "Misery" or even "The Servant", on whose traditions it draws. The writing's not as good as in those other films but this still is a perfectly competent little thriller. Conti plays Sir Paul Napier, an eminent former art critic, blinded in a car accident, who has lived for many years as a recluse in one of those conveniently spooky and remote gothic mansions that suit a story like this one.
Having now decided to come out of a retirement, he advertises for an assistant to help him write his autobiography. Along comes Jane Ryder (Hannah), who at first seems perfect. Wrong! We soon realise she has another agenda from odd way she starts cuddling a toy teddy bear in the spare room. And when she starts playing cruel pranks on Paul - lying to him about what's in the newspaper and what she's wearing, throwing books on the fire instead of logs and then turning his house into chaos and putting obstacles in his way - like many blind people, he's memorised where everything is in his home - then we know he's in deep trouble. The ever reliable Conti, working throughout with his eyes covered in either dark glasses or heavy scarring makes up, plays Paul as a gruff, testy and self absorbed egomaniac but with a dry sense of humour.
Hannah at times struggles to keep up with him in the thespian stakes, but manages the two facedness of the apparently ever helpful assistant, who has revenge and terrorism on her mind, with the requisite gusto. Conti and Hannah have the screen virtually to themselves, apart from Miriam Margolyes as Paul's housekeeper, whom Jane quickly gets off the scene and a somewhat eccentric cameo from Elaine Paige as a canvasser from the local Conservative party, both of whose roles are there primarily to further Paul's gradual realisation of what a cuckoo he has in his nest and also provide some touches of comic relief.
Although this is aiming at psychological drama rather than horror, Ruiz still uses the spooky mansion location to good effect. When we finally get to what it is that's bugging Jane so badly, the film starts to veer towards the melodrama of old Joan Crawford movies, but then pretty much redeems itself with an effective and unexpected twist.
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