''The Grotesque'' (also known as ''Grave Indiscretion'' and ''Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets'') is a 1995 British film by
John-Paul Davidson
John-Paul Davidson is a director, producer and writer for television and film. He was born in London and after attending Bristol University, The University of Malaya and San Francisco Art Institute he went on to work for the BBC for a number of ...
, adapted from the 1989
novel of the same name by
Patrick McGrath. It stars
Alan Bates,
Lena Headey
Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she re ...
,
Theresa Russell
Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films.
Born in San Diego, ...
and
Sting.
Costume Designer
A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
Colleen Atwood
Colleen Atwood (born September 25, 1948) is an American costume designer.
Atwood has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design twelve times, winning four times - for the films ''Chicago'' (2002), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (200 ...
worked on the film, and McGrath's wife, actress
Maria Aitken
Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken (born 12 September 1945) is an English theatre director, teacher, actress, and writer.
Early life and career
Aitken was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and Penelo ...
, performed in a supporting role.
Plot
Eccentric
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
Sir Hugo has little interest in his wife, Lady Harriet, but the new butler, Fledge, gives her the attention she needs. Hugo dislikes his daughter Cleo's fiancé, aspiring poet Sidney, and Sidney's subsequent disappearance places the household in further turmoil.
Cast
*
Alan Bates as Sir Hugo Coal
*
Theresa Russell
Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her filmography includes over fifty feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films.
Born in San Diego, ...
as Lady Harriet Coal
*
Sting as Fledge
*
Lena Headey
Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she re ...
as Cleo Coal
*
Jim Carter as George Lecky
*
Anna Massey
Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...
as Mrs. Giblet
*
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress and film producer.
Early life and family
Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was two years ...
as Doris
*
Maria Aitken
Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken (born 12 September 1945) is an English theatre director, teacher, actress, and writer.
Early life and career
Aitken was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and Penelo ...
as Lavinia Freebody
*
James Fleet
James Edward Fleet (born 11 March 1952) is an English actor of theatre, radio and screen. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and the dim-w ...
as Inspector Limp
*
Steven Mackintosh
Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009).
Mack ...
as Sidney Giblet
*
John Mills
Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...
as Sir Edward Cleghorn
*
Annette Badland
Annette Badland (born 26 August 1950) is an English actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Mrs. Glen ...
as Connie Babblehump
*
Bob Goody
Robert Goody (born 16 April 1951) is a British actor, librettist, writer and former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Theatre work
Bob Goody trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1973-1975). He was a founder member of the acclaim ...
as Father Pim
Release
The film was released under the title ''Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets'' in the United States, and later its US video title was ''Grave Indiscretion''.
It is also known as ''Butler morden leiser'' in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, ''Grotesco'' in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, and ''Perverso'' in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
The film is available on
Region 2 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
(as ''The Grotesque'') and
VHS (''Grave Indiscretion'') only, though both versions are out of print.
Reception
Nathan Rabin of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' called the film "predictable", noting its "lack of substance" and that "Bates and Russell deliver amusingly over-the-top performances...but Sting and Styler give wooden performances that make their characters seem not so much eerie and mysterious as heavily sedated."
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grotesque, The
1995 films
British LGBT-related films
Male bisexuality in film
Artisan Entertainment films
Films scored by Anne Dudley
Films produced by Trudie Styler
1990s English-language films
1990s British films