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01/20/07
Keeping Mum (2006)
56
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:85
Fresh:48
Rotten:37
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: The stellar cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas and Dame Maggie Smith, is certainly an asset, but this black comedy is too uneven.
Theatrical Release:02-12-2005
Synopsis: KEEPING MUM stars Atkinson as an absent-minded vicar of a rural parish who is so distracted by the pressures of his job that he fails to notice his wife's (Thomas) dalliance with her brash golf... [More]
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze
Director: Niall Johnson
Reviews for Keeping Mum
...There’s no artful black comedy here, just an uncomfortable clash between broad provincial humour and a murder plotline.
06/24/06
Top CriticDespite a likeable cast and bursts of wit, this fails to work its darker comic themes into its picture of flawed-but-loveable rural Britain.
04/01/06
Top CriticApart from the witty script, the secret to its success lies in its offbeat casting.
01/07/06
Top CriticWell-acted, frequently amusing comedy drama, although it suffers from a wildly uneven tone and doesn't quite succeed either as black comedy or feelgood movie.
01/07/06
It's a bit of amiable fun, and there's a first-rate cast who give game performances. However, I couldn't help feeling that the story needed a colder, sharper edge of steel and, quite simply, more gags.
01/07/06
Top CriticGetting audiences to laugh at murder is tricky business, and these filmmakers aren't quite up to the challenge.
01/07/06
Don't expect Rowan Atkinson in full Bean or Blackadder flight: this is much more delicate Country Life comeuppance at the hands of a deliciously dark fairy godmother.
07/30/09
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04/23/09
Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean") plays straight-man Reverend Walter Goodfellow to Grace Hawkins (acted with keen wit by Maggie Smith) his genteel serial-killer housekeeper in this delicious British black comedy.
04/20/09
An insufferable British dark comedy in the tradition of other happy-horseshit classics
08/07/07
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05/12/07
The problem with Keeping Mum is that the slaughter is very real and, worse, the victims are often innocent or otherwise undeserving of their fate.
03/01/07
I would have loved for these characters to have a different plot to stretch out in. However, this story is obvious, pedestrian, warm and pleasant, but mostly a tragic waste of some tremendous resources.
01/31/07
It has all the edge, darkness and wit one expects from the storied genre of British dark comedy.
01/19/07
Director Niall Johnson, who collaborated on the script withRichard Russo deserves kudos for maintaining the tenor and tone of the film. A black comedy such as KEEPING MUM requires a very specific touch and Johnson handles the material with aplomb.
01/11/07
The British countryside provides a pretty framework, unfortunately the picture inside doesn't fit the bill.
12/30/06
Disappointing British black comedy.
12/13/06
...the film gets by -- just barely -- on the powerhouse combination of Atkinson, Thomas and Smith...
12/04/06
The warped fun is enhanced by two performances — one that is expected and one that's a delightful surprise.
11/17/06
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