Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Director: Paul McGuigan
Cast: Jamie Bell, Annette Bening, Julie Walters
Time: 105 min
Country: UK
Year: 2017
Language: English

Annette Bening makes this story of Gloria Grahame’s last days a must-see. As the faded movie star now in her late 50s, with a penchant for much younger men – in this case 20-something Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) – she is mercurial, sexy and always riveting. The film opens with Grahame getting ready to go onstage at a theatre outside Liverpool only to collapse in her living room. Then the scene shifts to Turner’s Liverpool home where he hears of her illness and then flashes back to how they originally met and began their affair. Given that their initial connection is so strong – their first dance together is wonderful we’re drawn into the mystery of what went wrong between them. It’s basically a two-handed chamber drama, goosed occasionally by appearances from Peter’s family (Julie Walters plays his mother) and scenes in California and New York, usually set in just one room. Bening will get attention for the fact that she forgoes her vanity for the role, but the performance is more than skin deep. She is charming, given to flashes of anger, and pulses with energy. Bell holds his own – which is a feat in itself – and, even though there are predictable beats here, the movie will get even the biggest cynic teary-eyed.