I like this film a lot. The acting especially Michael Palin is impeccable. Yet the ending is really depressing. The main character (the Pig) is killed and it looks like Maggie Smith runs of with that horrible Denholm Elliot. I felt quite jolly throughout the film but i was left a bit down by the end. Sad
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Also, the landlady is going to marry the inspector simply to put him off the butcher, with whom presumably she will carry on her affair, all the while not even knowing if her husband is alive or not! I agree, quite a dark ending!
shareCan I just add some responses to these reviews?
As I was born in 1947 I experienced the tail end of rationing and so can appreciate what these characters are going through(with the pig).
It's sad,but in the end their lust for meat overcame their emotional feelings for the pig.
If you are a meat eater imagine living from 1940 to 1954(when meat rationing ended) with iust aprrox 8 ounces of meat a week!
You can see just why they eyed the pig with such greed.
Of course it wasn't just a lust for meat,they wanted to impress socially too.
Now regarding the Maggie Smith & Denholm Elliot characters.I think they were made for each other.As regards the Landlady and the Inspector,I am afraid that wartime (and after) made people viewed life in a different way,and they probably did things(in relationships) that wouldn't have done in a time of peace.
Maybe,being 64 I have had more experience of this(or am just more cynical) but that's life it doesn't always go where you expect it to.
Also please remember,that Alan Bennett's writing whils it it IS funny,ALWAYS has an undercurrent of dark sardonic humour.
This is what makes him the genius that he is.
Yes,this movie CAN be depressing(and funny)but it's taht unique combination that makes it so great!
Thanks for the insights, winles.
shareMichaelPalin looks happy at the end though, he has made a friend and they are enjoying raising another pig together. i don't think maghie smith woukd run iff with denholm eliot, she just wants to advance herself and her husband socially. She andEliot may have a discreet affair.
shareI was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it
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