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MOVIES / ON DVD / KEEPING MUM
Keeping Mum

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Keeping Mum (2006)

55%
56%
75%
N/A
N/A
N/A
55 %
Reviews Counted: 82 Fresh: 45  Rotten:37 Average Rating: 5.9/10
 
Consensus: This black comedy is too uneven. The stellar cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas and Dame Maggie Smith, is certainly an asset, but this black comedy is too uneven. more
 
Rated: 15
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
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 instructor (Swayze), his daughter's parade of new boyfriends, and his young son's regular trouncing... [More]
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 instructor (Swayze), his daughter's parade of new boyfriends, and his young son's regular trouncing by the school's bullies. Enter their charming new housekeeper, Grace (Smith), the answer to the family's prayers: a sweet, grey-haired old lady with her own distinctive definition of cleaning house. One by one, the family members find that Grace is able to solve their problems, but they don't realize that her means are leading to a lot of ends and the population of their sleepy hamlet is rapidly diminishing. --© THINKFilm [Less]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze, Tamsin Egerton

Director: Niall Johnson
Screenwriter: Niall Johnson, Richard Russo
Composer: Dickon Hinchliffe

DVD Info

Release:

Aug 2, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 16:9

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Closed Captioned - English
  • Subtitles - Spanish - optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Alternate Opening
  • Audio Commentary - Filmmakers (unspecified)
  • Bloopers
  • Deleted Scene
  • Outtakes
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Trailers

Interactive Features:

  • Interactive Menus
  • Scene Selection

Reviews

 
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N/R

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Full Review | Comment
01/20/07 05:11 AM
Philip French
Observer [UK]
Ratings Image

...There’s no artful black comedy here, just an uncomfortable clash between broad provincial humour and a murder plotline.

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 03:42 AM
Anna Smith
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Despite a likeable cast and bursts of wit, this fails to work its darker comic themes into its picture of flawed-but-loveable rural Britain.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/06 03:49 AM
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Apart from the witty script, the secret to its success lies in its offbeat casting.

Full Review | Comment
01/07/06 03:47 AM
Adrian Hennigan
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Well-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.

Full Review | Comment
01/07/06 03:47 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
01/07/06 03:47 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Getting audiences to laugh at murder is tricky business, and these filmmakers aren't quite up to the challenge.

Full Review | Comment
01/07/06 03:47 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

An insufferable British dark comedy in the tradition of other happy-horseshit classics

Full Review | Comment
08/07/07 11:17 AM
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/12/07 03:45 AM
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 03:36 AM
Maria Garcia
Film Journal International
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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.

Full Review | Comment
01/31/07 12:51 PM
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina
Ratings Image

It has all the edge, darkness and wit one expects from the storied genre of British dark comedy.

Full Review | Comment
01/19/07 06:45 PM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review | Comment
01/11/07 04:18 PM
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

The British countryside provides a pretty framework, unfortunately the picture inside doesn't fit the bill.

Full Review | Comment
12/30/06 05:33 AM
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine
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Disappointing British black comedy.

Full Review | Comment
12/13/06 04:29 PM
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

...the film gets by -- just barely -- on the powerhouse combination of Atkinson, Thomas and Smith...

Full Review | Comment
12/04/06 12:22 AM
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image

The warped fun is enhanced by two performances — one that is expected and one that's a delightful surprise.

Full Review | Comment
11/17/06 05:55 PM
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Ratings Image

...Features a great cast and a witty script that should help it appeal to even those who aren't as enamored of British films as I am.

Full Review | Comment
11/11/06 04:59 AM
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs
Ratings Image

I'll match Grace's way with a meat cleaver and a shovel against Mary's spoonful of sugar every time.

Full Review | Comment
11/10/06 07:53 AM
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Ratings Image

There's something immoral about a film that asks us to chuckle at the naughty murders of innocent people and then expects our hearts to swell when a husband and wife affirm their holy union. 'Saw III' has more integrity.

Full Review | Comment
11/06/06 11:06 AM
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
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Related Forums

REEL_REVIEWER
Spread the word, KEEPING MUM now set for a theatrical release on September 15, 2006!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/29/06


REEL_REVIEWER
Spread the word, KEEPING MUM now set for a theatrical release on September 15, 2006!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/29/06


REEL_REVIEWER
Spread the word, KEEPING MUM now set for a theatrical release on September 15, 2006!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/29/06


REEL_REVIEWER
Spread the word, KEEPING MUM now set for a theatrical release on September 15, 2006!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 9/29/06
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