An Unequal Couple (1983)

Movie
German title	An unequal pair
Original title	The dresser
Country of production	United Kingdom
original language	English
Publishing year	1983
length	112 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Peter Yates
script	Ronald Harwood
production	Ronald Harwood ; Peter Yates
music	James Horner
camera	Kelvin Pike
cut	Ray Lovejoy
occupation
	Albert Finney : Sir; Tom Courtenay : Norman; Edward Fox : Oxenby; Zena Walker : Her Ladyship; Eileen Atkins : Madge; Michael Gough : Frank Carrington; Cathryn Harrison : Irene; Betty Marsden : Violet Manning; Sheila Reid : Lydia Gibson; Lockwood West Geoffrey Thornton; Donald Eccles : Mr. Godstone; Llewellyn Rees : Horace Brown; Guy Manning : Benton; Anne Blackman : Beryl; Kevin Stoney : C. Rivers Lane; Ann Way : Miss White; John Sharp : Mr. Bottomley; Roger Avon : Charles; Joe Belcher : Arthur;

An odd couple is a British film drama from the year 1983 . It is the literary film adaptation of the autobiographical play of the same name, The Dresser, by Ronald Harwood .

action

After the successful star actor Sir has finished a theater performance in front of a large audience, he is looked after, cared for, washed and morally restored by his cloakroom operator Norman. Norman organizes his appointments on his own and has to endure his moody, childish and aggressive outbursts again and again.

In England in 1940, Sir seems to have misunderstood the seriousness of the situation. Because while the Germans are flying air raid after air raid, he is behaving more and more childishly and seems to be losing his mind. After having one of his outbursts again - close to a nervous breakdown - in a public market place, Sir is admitted to a hospital, where he is given strict rest to regain his mental health.

But that evening Sir has an appearance in the leading role in Shakespeare's King Lear , on which the entire theater company relies. He can't just fail. All the income that one needs to survive was also lost. So Norman does everything he can to get Sir back on stage, whatever the cost. He shields everyone from him, cheers him up, promises him nice rewards and persuades the absent-minded and occasionally aggressive sir to go on stage. After all, he is an actor who simply belongs on the theater stage.

Sir realizes that, too, though it disgusts him to be reduced to playing cripples and seniors. Norman spreads the good news among the actors that Sir is preparing to perform. But when he comes back, he is shocked to find that Sir not only put on his make-up like Othello , but also sinks into self-pity. Norman yells at him to let go, after all, this is his 227th performance of King Lear . But Sir cannot even remember the first lines of his text and suddenly vacillates between excessive self-confidence and deepest self-doubt.

To remember his lines, he says everything that comes to mind. In doing so, he does the worst that can happen to a theater actor: He pronounces the name Macbeth .

The time of the gig is approaching and the actors are backstage. The bomb alarm doesn't bode well. The Germans attack again. But nobody flees from the audience - everyone wants to see the performance.

The actors play their piece confidently until the moment when King Lear is supposed to appear. But King Lear does not appear. Sir stays frozen in his chair behind the stage and doesn't make a face. Norman is desperate. While the performers continue improvising on stage and the audience is wondering where Sir is, Norman is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He desperately tries to get Sir to play. But he doesn't move. Only when a second bomb alarm sounds does he wake up from his catatonia and is pushed onto the stage by Norman, where he plays like crazy. Until the break, he masterfully shows his full talent.

He is accompanied from the stage with applause. At the back he berates the lack of commitment of everyone else and disappears into his dressing room. Norman follows him and reassures him with applause and exaggerated adulation. Since Sir falls asleep, Norman uses the time to get some alcohol in the next bar. Meanwhile, Sir is visited by Madge. He excitedly tells her that for the first time, he didn't just feel like an actor. For the first time he was the real King Lear on stage. All the words were not uttered, but just arose instantly in his head. It has now taken him 20 years to experience this feeling once. He asks Madge if it was worth it and if she was happy.

Madge replies that she is unhappy, but it was worth it, and leaves his dressing room again. Then comes Irene, who definitely wants to become an actress herself and want to give herself completely to the job. She can literally feel the mystical power that hovers in Sir's wardrobe, as well as the tension that exists between her and Sir. With an animal roar, Sir lunges at Irene to lift her. But it is too heavy and he collapses under it. It scares her so much that she runs away. She is intercepted by Norman. He drives her away, not without first making it clear that Sir is only lifting her because the next scene will require it. King Lear has to carry a lady onto the stage, and that's what the lightest actress is best for.

The game begins with the scene after the break. Sir carries a woman onto the stage as King Lear. As an actor he delivers an unbelievable masterpiece, which demands everything from him and at the end of the play is honored with standing ovations . Exhausted, he then announces the program for the next few days and has to swallow when he mentions that he will play the Lear again on Thursday. He just can't do it anymore and is dragging himself badly into his wardrobe. Whoever planned this tour would probably want to enslave him, sir complains. But Norman makes him understand that he is. Sir, it was yourself who organized the pieces in their order.

Sir sinks into his chair and wants to read a few more lines from his autobiography. Norman complies with the request and reads the dedication, with which Sir really thanks everyone who made his career possible, even the carpenters and electricians - just not Norman. While Norman realizes this and is terribly upset about it, Sir dies in the armchair. Norman loses the last of his dignity, howls, screams and is desperate. He doesn't know where to go now that his true love has left him.

criticism

Renowned film critic Roger Ebert praised Finney for playing a "seriously disoriented, hungover, shaky and confused" old Shakespeare actor and Courtenay for playing his character of the "proud, resentful and self-doubting outsider" perfectly. In addition, the film is well cast in its supporting roles and offers a wonderful wealth of detail.

Although the "mechanical details don't always go hand in hand with the acting," said Vincent Canby of the New York Times , the film is "an eccentric work." Since the entire film works on the chemistry of the two main actors, it's just fun to see this film.

The lexicon of the international film said: "A character study that is impressive due to its brilliant performance and a witty-ironic examination of the problems of human coexistence, which encourages thinking about forgotten virtues such as loyalty, love and humility."

background

Ronald Harwood's play is based on his own experience as an actor and dresser for Donald Wolfit . From 1953 to 1958 he worked in this capacity for a Shakespeare theater company. He processes his experiences in the biography Sir Donald Wolfit CBE: His life and work in the Unfashionable Theater as well as in the play The Dresser . The piece premiered on March 6, 1980 at the Royal Exchange in Manchester . It was first performed in London on April 30, 1980 at the Queen's Theater . In this case embodied Freddie Jones the role of Sir and Tom Courtenay that of Norman. In the same year it was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award as best piece . The piece made its Broadway debut on November 9, 1981 at the Brooks Atkinson Theater , after which over 200 performances were played. Courtenay played the role of Norman again, this time the Sir being played by British actor Paul Rogers . At the end of the year the play was nominated for two Tony Awards , for Best Play and Best Actor .

The film opened in US cinemas on December 9, 1983, where it grossed just over $ 5 million. It was released in cinemas in the Federal Republic of Germany on March 23, 1984, and in the German Democratic Republic on May 10, 1985. Since April 6, 2004 it has also been available on DVD in German .