Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A Masterpiece!

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The 'plot' of this film is largely determined by the true story of Nella Last - although another reviewer has questioned how accurately the film reflects the content of her letters. The stories of the readers of Nella's letters at Mass Observation must be invented; but I enjoyed the counterpoint of those scenes.The real story of the film is interpersonal relations - within Nella's family, and with her neighbours. Emotion (love, arrogance, jealousy, cruelty) and lack of emotion are central. The backdrop of the war, and the fear (and actuality) of losing people raise the stakes for those involved. Nella breaks out from being a very timid, downtrodden woman to a more confident, opinionated person by the end of the film.I think that a lot of subtle jokes based on the mores, culture and politics of Britain at the time will probably have been missed - particularly if you're not from Britain.I found this film an accurate and moving picture of real people in the context of war. It was very well written and acted.I must take issue with the last reviewer on one point. It was made very plain that the film was set in Barrow, not London. Bombing raids took place all over Britain in the second world war. Barrow is 290 miles from London.

Victoria Wood is a famous British comic actress who has surely shown that she also has a superior for drama - both writing and acting - in this excellent made for television film based upon a real person. During World War II in England, housewife, Nella Last's experiences were recorded by the Mass-Observation organization founded in 1937 to record the daily experiences of British citizens for social research.The film starts with Nella as being almost complete frustrated with her role as housewife. She is a middle-aged woman who has devoted her entire self to the care of her husband and their two sons. The war has just started, and her sons are leaving to serve in duties other than combat.Nella's only connection with anything creative is her younger son. He is the one who encourages his mother to go beyond the confines of the house in order to seek fulfillment. Nella begins to blossom when she volunteers for the Women's Voluntary Service and starts to submit her observances of daily occurrences to Mass-Observation.Over the objections of her husband - a joiner - Nella volunteers for the WVS. There she must face the insults of the women in charge for she is merely the wife of a laborer whereas they are wives of members of higher classes. With spunk and wit, Nella forges ahead and becomes an invaluable member of the organization.At home, Nella receives almost no support from her husband - a man not able to express emotion. Because of this weakness, he appears to be somewhat of a villain, but there are a few touching scenes in the screenplay where the viewer is able to see past his hard surface to a man who genuinely loves his wife.Nella's son, Cliff, may be the most complex character in the film. Clifford Last who eventually entered battle was wounded and after the war, moved to Australia where he became a well-known sculptor.This is a fine film that gives insight into the lives of women of Nella's generation and invites the viewer into an "everyday family" that is certainly far from that.

Written by and starring Victoria Wood, 'Housewife 49' was a lovely one-off drama that was perfect for a quiet, winter Sunday evening. Its broadcast also signifies that ITV may be moving in the right direction with its drama output; which has been truly awful this year, with embarrassments such as the ludicrous 'Bon Voyage'. However, the future looks promising as their winter schedules are packed with drama and improvement has been shown recently with 'Mysterious Creatures', the acclaimed final 'Prime Suspect' and this wartime tale.The drama followed Nella Last (played by Victoria Wood in a nice change from her usual work in comedy) through the Second World War as she, against the wishes of her reserved husband, volunteers to aid the war effort with other housewives. Nella is initially ignored or looked down on by the other housewives, but, battling depression and low self-esteem, slowly gains their respect and admiration.The performances are first-rate, from Wood's sympathetic portrait of a woman who is eager to please all, to David Threlfall (of 'Shameless' fame), who is magnificently restrained as Nella's husband, and when he finally shows some love to his wife it is irresistibly joyous. Excellent support comes from Stephanie Cole as an uptight housewife, and Ben Crompton and Christopher Harper as Nella's sons.Overall, a very entertaining, tender and heart-warming piece of TV drama.

I enjoyed this drama very much. The language , turn of phrases, and mores were of their time . Many wartime dramas are ruined by bad research and a tendency to modernise the script to 'make it appeal to the younger folk' a habit I abhor but seen a lot in the 70's and 80's.. One suspected that the son was 'gay' (a term never used in this context at the time) and I thought oh, here we go, they are making it trendy, but Nellas incomprehension when her Son tells her that the love of his life was a sailor (Fleet Air Arm) killed in action shows. These things were 'never discussed ' in polite circles in those days. Very good, historically accurate drama.