Abigail's Party (1977)
Beverly wears low-cut dresses, too much make-up, and has a reputation as a man-eating monster. She turns a social get-together between married couples into a virtual time-bomb of emotional tension.
- Mike Leigh
- Mike Leigh
Rating: 7.368/10 by 38 users
Alternative Title:
Play for Today: Abigail's Party - GB
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 42 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: dysfunctional marriage, house party, tension, united kingdom
Alison Steadman is outstanding in this BBC "Play for Today" self-adaptation of Mike Leigh's play as the really quite hateful "Beverley' who gathers a few of her friends around for drinks and canapés only to have the evening slowly degenerate into an alcohol infused angry, bitter observation of snobbery and middle class anachronisms. The tensions rise - accompanied by the increasingly intrusive and irritating racket from the eponymous party being held next door by the daughter of one of the guests. At times this is truly laugh-out-loud and at others agonisingly exasperating but an excellent example of great acting and writing.
