Customer Reviews
A pleasant film of a non-great novel - By: lexo1941, 30 Aug 2008 
I admire George Orwell more than I admire any other English writer of his generation, but I have (I hope) no illusions about his genius; most of his novels aren't very good, & "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" is not an exception. It's a half-baked, second-rate novel that probably should have been a handful of brilliant essays (and, in fact, probably was - Orwell's essay about working in a bookshop is better-written & more valuable than his fictional depiction of the shop Gordon ends up working in). Nevertheless, I am glad someone decided to make a movie out of it. Richard E. Grant is a glassy-eyed pleasure as Gordon, Helena Bonham-Carter makes the utmost out of a pretty rubbish character (she's no better in the book), & the film has some fine comic moments as well as touches of authentic hideous embarrassment. In the end, though, the book reallly isn't alll that great, & Orwell knew it, requesting that it not be republished after his death. Uncritical Orwell fans will try to deny it, but the faults of the film are just the faults of the book.
A good version of one of Orwell's lesser known films - By: Andres C. Salama, 10 Aug 2008 
A good version of a not very well known book by George Orwell. In 1930s London, Gordon Comstock (Richard E. Grant in a not very impressive performance) stars as a copy writer in an ad agency (where he is considered among the best in the trade) who leaves his job in order to pursue his vocation as a poet. That turns out to be a very bad decision, not least because his poetry doesn't arise from mediocrity. His life goes downhill after leaving the ad agency, at least from a material point of view, moving from one bad form of housing to another worse, until he finishes in what 1930s Europe would be the equivalent of a slum. His long suffering girlfriend, Helena Bonham-Carter, accompanies him, but up to a point, & in the end, it is she who makes him go back to his senses. Comstock final embracement of bourgeoisie conformism (which is in the book) leaves something of a bad taste (also, the movie is surprisingly pro life on the issue of abortion). Something I have found also surprising: It has been said that Orwell turn away from the left after his disillusionment with the Stalinist repression of the trotskyites during the Spanish civil war, but this book was written before that war, & Orwell already happily punctures more than a few of the left's sacred cows.
Encapsulating - By: , 13 Oct 2005 
I read the Orwell book about a while ago & remember loving it, & while I was looking for some Helena-Bonham Carter movies I came across this - & I'm so glad I did.
This tidy & warm movie reallly inspired me in a way that few movies do. It just struck a chord. Perfectly casted & acted. Richard E. Grant was perfect as the ambitious, though misguided poet, struggling against the classes. It's a story I think most people can relate to. A great presenation of the class system of the times.
A wonderful performance by Carter. I fell in love with her again, having done so in so many of her other movies.
The dvd release is standard with no special features. It's just the movie & nothing else - but that's alll that you need. Overlooked, but warm as tea for one with chocolate biscuits ^_^
Bed of Aspidistras - By: Louise Stanley, 21 Mar 2005 To anyone who has read the book: it's a complete travesty of Orwell's gritty & sleazy style which makes you need a shower after you finish it. It's Merchant Ivory from start to finish, with rosy cheeked cockneys & "My Fair Lady"-style costumes, & Orwell should be spinning in his grave fast enough to keep the National Grid ticking over for a fair few years to come.
To anyone who hasn't read the book - don't, & enjoy what is one of the most interesting & romantic films I've seen come out of the UK (forget Bridget Jones!). Richard E Grant is amazingly intense as Gordon Comstock, who could be the hero of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" if he stopped writing bad poetry & started taking up investigations into canine homicide. His jade green eyes light up the whole production, & he goes onto my lengthening list of sexy male actors. Helena Bonham-Carter is just perfect as his feisty girlfriend Rosemary, & the sex scenes are just tantalising enough to be believable, yet the whole thing is done with exquisite taste.
One star off for the lack of Orwellian grittiness, but I enjoyed it immensely once I got over the lack of shadows.
What a terrible adaptation! - By: dan, 05 Aug 2003 
I was very eager to see this film, being as I am a massive Orwell fan. However I found the adaptation disappointing in the extreme. In fact the only enjoyable thing about watching this film was being able to bond with my partner over our synonymous distaste for the aspects of the book that had been utterly destroyed.
The entire focus of Orwells text has been changed; where the novel portrayed an eloquent social commentary, based around anti-capitalist sentiment & it's direct relation to Comstocks developing maturity this film is little more than a sappy '30s romance. The difference in the characterisation is notably horrid. Comstock is changed from a proud, stubborn, cynical & somewhat immature would-be poet to an irritatingly happy-go-lucky character. Most of the other characters are dealt with in a similar manner; in fact I don't believe there is one character in this film whose original personality is retained.
The amateurish screenplay of this adaptation is perhaps best characterised by the concept of the aspidistra that is the namesake of both film & novel; handled with subtlety & grace in the novel the ideas attached to this plant are rammed down our throat with horribly over emphasised scenes within the film.
In summation this is definitely not a film for any Orwell fan. It may hold a passing interest as a quirky romance in it's own right, but don't expect any relation to Orwellian literature to be contained within.
