Powerful

Great Film overall

Crappy film

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Rowan Atkinson is a vicar who's lost his motivation and become stuck in the rut of endless meetings. A charming, bumbling, wet blanket, which he plays in the same way he does many of his previous acting roles. Kristin Scott Thomas is his long suffering wife, who feels she's lacking any spice in her life. The parents are so focused on their own lives that they can't see what is happening with their children. Tamsin Egerton is the wayward daughter, who sleeps around, much to the irritation of her parents, who seem unable to reign her in. Toby Parkes plays the young son, finding it hard to fit in at school. And into their lives comes a mysterious Maggie Smith, who, while charming and motherly on the surface, hides a darker side that could have big implications on the family. This is a beautifully written and executed black comedy - reminiscent of the Ealing Studios comedies such as the Lady Killers - with the family at the centre of the story having plenty of aspects to empathise with. It's produced in part by the Isle of Man Film Commission, and if you know the island, then the landscape really jumps out; the sons school is Sulby, they have tea at Cregneash (over looking the Calf of Man), there's a shot with the Castle of Refuge at Douglas in the background, and even shots from inside the Gaiety Theatre, yet it could be based in any small village environment, with its quirky characters and small scale problems that shouldn't require such...final solutions.

What can I say about this film other than it is funny, witty, surprising, original and well performed. Maggie Smith is superb of course in this unusual role, as is Rowan Atkinson with his perfect comedic timing but I think that Kristen Scott Thomas was comedy gold as the wayward, bored housewife, Gloria, who's husband (the local vicar - Atkinson) had lost his way a little bit. Patrick Swayze was an amusing and odd casting choice as brash American Lothario golf pro who seduces Gloria but whilst he is something to distract her from the unfulfilled life of a country vicar's wife, she soon realises he's not all he's cracked up to be. Swayze is funny and doesn't take himself at all seriously and it's a brave man who will wear a thong like that on screen! All round entertaining, with heart and tenderness too... if you overlook the grisly bits. The family, the Vicar, Gloria, the daughter Holly and the young son, Petey, are dysfunctional, at each other's throats, unaware of each other's needs and generally not doing well until the new housekeeper joins their family and things start to improve - but all is not what it seems. Brilliantly simple, well scripted and for once a comedy not mocking of the church. Not seen Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) used in that fashion in a film before! Rather clever.

The story about this movie is simple. Goodfellow family hires nanny to watch over because they have work of their head even if that is not the fact, actually.Well, I am going to start with beginning. I think that the opening scene makes the rest of the movie a little predictable. You know that girl is going to have some connection with a family from small village. It was funny, but unnecessary.I have to say that everything in the movie happened too fast. Gloria fell in love with her instructor too fast, and her daughter Holly was stated as a slut, which is too far-in-credibility for this movie. I found Rowan Attkinson in this movie a little bit lost and his character wasn't that funny like Gloria and Lance, her lover.When we find out that Grace is actually a killer, it's funny because she doesn't even see any piece of severity in her acts. She just tries to keep family happy and together. Reason is very good twist. She is Gloria's mother. She is overall the most memorable character in this movie and easily likable, besides the fact that she killed more people in this movie than Jason in Friday the 13th Part II.Petey is the most undeveloped character and it's there just because of the routine which movie has to accomplish. But his situations developed Graces's character so it's needed.Overall: Movie has really funny moments that involved mostly, like I stated, Gloria, Lance and Walter. It's a family movie set in beautiful country-side, which is perfectly settled with emotions of all characters. Of course I can't forget to mention Liz Smiths's character which was the final piece of this puzzle. My rating: 7/10

I went to see "Johnny English", a 2003 spy spoof starring Rowan Atkinson, in the theatre, and thought it was very funny (that wasn't quite the case when I last watched it on the small screen nearly four years later, but it certainly was in the theatre), and I remember for a while after that year, he didn't seem to have any upcoming film appearances in sight. However, that changed when "Keeping Mum" was announced. I remember first hearing about this film around the time it was confirmed, and the return of Atkinson was good news to me. This dark comedy was released in the U.K. in 2005, but since I'm North American, I had to wait for a while after that, and ended up finally seeing it in early 2007. With that first viewing, it was an 8/10 for me, and it seems a second viewing several years later hasn't changed that.Walter Goodfellow is a pastor in the small English village of Little Wallop. He has a wife named Gloria, a teenage daughter named Holly, and a younger son named Petey. Lately, Walter has been so busy with his work that he has been neglecting his family, while there is much trouble among the other three members of the household. Gloria is being kept awake by a neighbour's dog barking outside every night, and her husband's neglect is making her sexually frustrated, causing her to have an affair with her golf instructor, the sex-hungry Lance. To add to the family trouble, Holly is going through a rebellious phase and is letting her libido get the best of her, and Petey is constantly being bullied by a group of boys at school. The Goodfellows get a new housekeeper, an elderly woman who is supposedly named Grace Hawkins, and she intends to help the dysfunctional family. Things certainly begin to change with her around, but the Goodfellows don't know much about this woman and her way of solving problems! Walter may be an unusually subdued character for Rowan Atkinson to play, not like the bitter, nasty Blackadder or the goofy Mr. Bean, but the comedian still manages to pull it off, and provides some of the laughs the film has to offer, such as the part showing the character practicing his sermon, pretending God is criticizing it, and then being startled by Grace's presence. However, "Keeping Mum" certainly doesn't rely entirely on him for the laughs. Kristin Scott Thomas is very often funny as the irritable Gloria, starting when this character first appears in the film, as we see her annoyed by the barking dog and then discovering that Holly is making out in a van outside. The late Patrick Swayze's comical performance as the sleazy Lance character also works very well, as we see him on his cell phone thinking he's talking to Gloria when Grace is actually the one on the other end, among other scenes. Dame Maggie Smith as Grace Hawkins is not a performance to forget. I can't think of a single lacklustre performance in the film, and in addition to the laughs (some big, some small), there's also some good tension in this well-written story, plus some scenic filming locations in England and on the Isle of Man.In the five years since its original British release, this 2005 crime comedy seems to have entertained a lot of people, but has also received its share of criticism, and certainly doesn't have the reputation of being one of the British comedy masterpieces. It's quite a dark comedy, with a fair amount of killing in the story, and as much as this has impressed many viewers, it could also put a lot of people off. Of course, there are also bound to be others who are not necessarily put off by the darkness of it, but just don't find it funny. Still, "Keeping Mum" has now impressed me twice, making me laugh and also putting me in suspense at times, and it's strange how much of the movie I couldn't remember from my first viewing. This includes everything after a certain point later on in the film, even though these parts most certainly didn't seem forgettable when I saw them for the second time! Anyway, overall, while it's not an amazing piece of comedy, and I'm not sure if I completely get it even after seeing it twice, I would still say this is a good film for many of those who want a dark comedy thriller.