The Party (2017)

Directed by: Sally Potter | 71 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall

A political statement about a broken England, is how Sally Potter describes her jet-black tragicomedy ‘The Party’ (2017). “When I wrote the screenplay, there was a strong sense in Britain that people were losing their political lives,” she says. “Left-wing politicians had lost their nerve to stand up for their ideals and hid somewhere in the political center, so that left and right were barely distinguishable from each other.” That confusing time meant that people could no longer discern for themselves what the truth was. “That’s why telling the truth is such an important theme in my film. The truth in all respects, both in personal and political life.” In the mere two weeks in which ‘The Party’ was filmed, the decision on Brexit was made. An outcome that had a huge impact on the international cast and crew. “Many people burst into tears the morning after the referendum. There was a sense that the film – I only realized later – had foresight about what could go so terribly wrong when people lose sight of their principles.”

Sally Potter is not the most accessible of filmmakers. Her best-known work is perhaps ‘Orlando’ (1992), after the novella of the same name by Virginia Woolf, starring Tilda Swinton. More recent work is ‘Ginger & Rosa’ (2012) with Elle Fanning and Annette Bening, among others. ‘The Party’ is her lightest work in years. The title party is a stylish soirée at politician Janet’s (Kristin Scott Thomas) home. She has something to celebrate as she’s just been told she’s been promoted to health minister in the British shadow cabinet. The gate to a post as party leader and eventually even prime minister is wide open. While she is preparing snacks, the guests trickle in one by one. The first to arrive are Janet’s old school friend April (Patricia Clarkson), blessed with a razor-sharp tongue, and her rather woolly, much older German friend Gottfried (Bruna Ganz). Then academic Martha (Cherry Jones) and her partner Jinny (Emily Mortimer) also appear. Martha is an old classmate of Janet’s husband Bill (Timothy Spall), who has been staring lethargically all evening and only gets out of his chair to record a new record. Something is brewing, because the mutual atmosphere is not exactly pleasant. For example, racist cynic April does not hide her opinion about the embittered feminist Martha. Things get really out of hand when Tom (Cillian Murphy), a savvy banker, shows up. One shocking revelation follows another and the partygoers are literally at each other’s hair, even before a bite is even served.

‘The Party’ feels, looks and sounds like a play, but is not. Potter wrote the screenplay especially for this film. Like a play, ‘The Party’ relies heavily on dialogue, and the events take place exclusively in Janet and Bill’s home. With a playing time of 71 minutes, this is a short, intelligent and razor-sharp tragicomedy full of venom, which works towards an old-fashioned strong punchline. Its strength lies in the way Potter observes her characters. The political layer makes ‘The Party’ intelligent and sharp, but it is the personal relationships between the characters, and the struggles they experience in interacting and telling the truth, that predominate. The fantastic cast is led by Kristin Scott Thomas, whose facade collapses in an instant when the first revelations are revealed. In her best scenes she is a model of restrained anger; she is also a hypocrite, because she herself also has the necessary secrets to hide. Timothy Spall is the bearer of that devastating message; the worn out and neglected husband of an overambitious politician has nothing to lose. Cillian Murphy, a banker an odd man out among the left-wing elite, is a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. And where is his mysterious wife? Cherry Jones and Emily Mortimer have happy news, but have they both been so open and honest with each other? And then we have the unlikely duo of Bruno Ganz and Patricia Clarkson. How did these two ever find each other? Ganz is the most gentle and spiritual of the bunch, while Clarkson steals the show with her abusive but oh-so-funny one-liners.

A top cast in a stylish black-and-white claustrophobic tragicomedy in which politics has a remarkable number of parallels with the personal lives of the characters. The revelations threaten to escalate things, and there is indeed yelling, beating and gun-wielding. Janet tries to save the mood with her suppressed anger, but in the end it is she herself who pulls the trigger. ‘The Party’ is a small gem in a 2017 film world dominated by action spectacle and superheroes: intelligent, funny and full of venom.