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poster of Cold Comfort Farm
Rating: 6.7/10 by 68 users

Cold Comfort Farm (1995)

In this adaptation of the satirical British novel, Flora Poste, a plucky London society girl orphaned at age 19, finds a new home with some rough relatives, the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm. With a take-charge attitude and some encouragement from her mischievous friend, Mary, Flora changes the Starkadders' lives forever when she settles into their rustic estate, bringing the backward clan up to date and finding inspiration for her novel in the process.

Directing:
  • John Schlesinger
Writing:
  • Malcolm Bradbury
  • Stella Gibbons
Stars:
Release Date: Sun, Jan 01, 1995

Rating: 6.7/10 by 68 users

Alternative Title:
Eine Farm voller Verrückter - DE

Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 35 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: based on novel or book, orphan, sussex, faithful adaptation
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

Eileen Atkins
Judith Starkadder
Freddie Jones
Adam Lambsbreath
Joanna Lumley
Mary Smiling
Ian McKellen
Amos Starkadder
Rufus Sewell
Seth Starkadder
Ivan Kaye
Reuben Starkadder
Maria Miles
Elfine Starkadder
Christopher Bowen
Charles Fairford
Rupert Penry-Jones
Dick Hawk-Monitor
Angela Thorne
Mrs. Hawk-Monitor
Richard Bebb
Hawk-Monitor Butler
Robert James
Mr. McKnag
Pat Keen
Aunt Gwen
Harry Ditson
Earl P. Neck
Tim Myers
Mr. Hawk-Monitor
Frederick Jaeger
Doctor Adolph Müdel

CinemaSerf

I'm not sure "Flora" (Kate Beckinsale) really knew what to expect when she arrived at the home of her more rustic family at the eponymous location. Farmhouses always look so welcoming and inviting, but one step through the door here and she might as well have stepped back through time. With a cast of characters named as if they were inspired by Charles Dickens, John Schlesinger takes us on a darkly humorous trip through the lives (and loves) of this community. "Can someone wash my curtains?" she enquires... "I think they're red but I'd like to be sure". She's got a meagre £100 per year, but that's a fortune for many who live a life trading hens and chickens and getting up to all sorts in the hay loft. Of course, there's loads of romantic shenanigans going on too as her wealthy cousin "Charles" (Christopher Bowen) takes an unrequited shine to her whilst she prefers life with her guilt-stricken relative "Starkadder" (Eileen Atkins) whilst all are under the thumb of the reclusive "Aunt Ada" (the scene stealing Sheila Burrell). This is a society where nothing is as is seems or straightforward and any novel that "Flora" might choose to write in later life is going to be a colourful affair! The story is whimsically engaging enough but it's really the assemblage of talent here that makes this work. Freddie Jones, the cheekily expressive Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Fry, Sir Ian McKellen and Joanna Lumley (never a very versatile actress, I find) all chip into this tale of the startling hypocrisy existing between the vulgar and crass and the prim and the proper. It looks good, flows well and shows what can be done when everyone is on board for a bit of a muddy romp.


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