''In Celebration'' is a 1975 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered fo ...

and starring

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the Cinema of the United Kingdom#The 1960s, 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down ...

, Brian Cox,

Gabrielle Daye Gabrielle Daye (2 October 1911 – 5 January 2005) was an English stage, film and television actress, notable for her TV role as Mrs. Pring on '' Bless Me, Father''. Other television appearances include ''Coronation Street'' (as Beattie Pearson, ...

, Bill Owen,

James Bolam James Christopher Bolam (born 16 June 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in '' The Likely Lads'' and its sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', Jack Ford in ''When the Boat Comes In'', Roy Fig ...

and

Constance Chapman Constance Chapman (29 March 1912 – 10 August 2003) was an English character actor working in theatre and television. She also made occasional film appearances. She made her stage debut in 1938 in ''Hay Fever'' at the Knightstone Theatre, Wes ...

. It is based on the 1969 stage production of the same name by

David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel '' Saville''. He also won the MacMillan F ...

which was also directed by Anderson. The movie was produced and released as part of the

American Film Theatre From 1973 to 1975, using approximately 500 movie theaters across the US, The American Film Theatre presented two seasons of film adaptations of well-known plays. Each film was shown only four times at each theatre. By design, these were not films ...

, which adapted theatrical works for a subscription-driven cinema series. It was meant to be shown

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...

ly with tickets sold in advance.

Plot

The film takes place in the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

mining town of Langwith. The Shaws' three sons have returned home to celebrate their 40th

wedding anniversary A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date that a wedding took place. Couples often mark the occasion by celebrating their relationship, either privately or with a larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for partic ...

. Mr. Shaw has been a coal miner for 49 years, and has only one year left until retirement. Mrs Shaw is the daughter of a pig breeder, meaning she came from a higher social class. The parents urged their sons to abandon their father's trade in pursuit of professional careers, but the results have not been entirely positive. Andrew, the eldest, became a solicitor but has abandoned it to pursue painting. Colin, who was a Communist party member for a year, is now a prosperous but unfulfilled

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

manager for a car manufacturer, dealing with negotiations with the unions. The youngest brother, Steven, is a teacher, married with four children, and has abandoned a book he had been writing for several years. The family go to an expensive restaurant, although the action is almost entirely in the couple's living room. A friendly neighbour is present for some of the scenes. The film examines the tensions which develop over the course of one evening as the family reunite. The family recall unpleasant incidents, including a premarital pregnancy, physical abuse, child neglect, the death of the couple's first son, the mother's suicide attempt and the "turning out" (sending him to live with another family for a period of time when another sibling was born) of another son.

Cast

In order of appearance: * Brian Cox as Steven Shaw *

as Mrs Burnett * Bill Owen as Mr. Shaw *

as Colin Shaw *

as Andrew Shaw *

as Mrs. Shaw

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The film version of ''In Celebration'' reunites the original cast with the original director, and their familiarity with the material shines through ... the drama is played out much as it was on the stage, and Anderson trains his camera on the actors with a theatre director's concern for the overall balance of a scene and the careful interaction of its motley participants. ... But despite the material's familiarity, the play has much cumulative power, with skeletons viciously dragged out of cupboards to the accompaniment of tersely poetic dialogue. Alan Bates has the hog-sized part as Andrew, the incessantly mocking and childish brother, but everyone has their moment of glory."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', praised Anderson for having "succeeded in making a very complete, full-bodied film of Mr. Storey's play without being tricky or intrusive…Mr. Anderson has also gotten terrific performances from everyone, especially Mr. Bates, Miss Chapman and Mr. Cox, as the most troubled of the Shaw sons." ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' wrote: "Anderson and a superb cast have made a harrowing and satisfying suspense drama."New York Magazine review
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Lindsay Anderson 1975 films 1975 drama films 1975 LGBTQ-related films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films British drama films Films directed by Lindsay Anderson Films produced by Ely Landau Films scored by Christopher Gunning Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films set in Derbyshire British LGBTQ-related films