The greatest movie ever made..!

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Hebe brings disgrace on her stuffy middle class family, by falling pregnant out of wedlock, she decides to up and leave her family to bring up her son. She sends him to public school, funding it by cooking for wealthy old ladies and high class exclusive prostitution. Hebe is unsure who the father is, she met him intoxicated during festivities in Italy, and all she can remember is a strong, overpowering smell of coffee.This is a really enjoyable drama, that challenges your preconceived ideas about things. Turning the idea of prostitution on its head, Hebe being the one overwhelmingly in control. You could be forgiven for reading the plot and expecting a deeper, more sordid drama.It's funny, easy viewing, with some rather lovely performances, Serena Scott Thomas is quite enchanting, underplaying her role to perfection. John Mills, Peter Davison, Brenda Bruce all lovely, each adding something completely different. With a cast like this it was never going to fail.Enjoyable, 7/10

There's something about this film that makes it standout from the hordes. It has a top class cast, it's romantic, funny and whimsical. Once seen, never forgotten ! It is not a commercial film as such, meaning that if a viewer is looking for bad language, blood, guts and rampant or graphic sex then it is definitely not for them. If a viewer is looking for gentle attributes, beautiful photography, romance, intrigue and lots of stylishly discreet sex, then it is for he/she. It was shown on late night TV in Australia a few years ago as a special treat by John Hinds, the local film buff and expert/critic on the ABC who recommended it highly. I bought it on the internet and have never seen it in video shops or anywhere else for that matter. I am hanging on to my copy for grim death ! It's like a favorite book that one takes down every year or so and re-reads with the greatest of pleasure. I thoroughly recommend it to a discerning viewer.

This is an entertaining movie, though not the best filmed. The plot moves along quite nicely and the heroine, Hebe, is spirited and likable. The way she makes "ends meet" by working as a cook and choosing to be a mistress to a select group of men, lends itself to unique plot twists and comic moments. Her back story--that of being rejected by her family due to an unwanted pregnancy and her inability to identify the father--is sad and implausible, but this doesn't keep our heroine down or the story from being interesting.If you are a romantic, this movie won't waste your time. Serena Scott Thomas is lovely in the role; and her gentlemen suitors are a fine and merry bunch.

I vaguely remember watching "Harnessing Peacocks" many years ago on North American television late at night while channel surfing, and ended up sitting through the entire movie by virtue of the compelling and winsome portrayal of the protagonist, Hebe, a single mom, disowned from a reputable family, whose charm and beauty provides for herself and her son. Although the movie surrounds Hebe with English reticence and middle-class respectability, Serena Scott Thomas's easy and affecting performance makes perfectly plausible the character's circumstances and the later plot developments concerning old friends and lovers. I actually do not recall much of the story, but I do remember with fondness Serena Scott Thomas's luminous Hebe.In reference to jaykay3's desire for a DVD of "Harnessing Peacocks", there is one available in the UK; Amazon.co.uk currently sells it as of the writing of this review. It is a region 2 disk using the PAL video standard, so it will not play in a region 1 (USA) player on an NTSC TV. You can, however, get a region free DVD player that also has a built-in PAL/NTSC converter.