Just perfect...

Captivating movie !

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Beryl Reid gives the performance of a lifetime in this film about lesbian roommates, one of which is an actress. The main plot revolves around the possibility of Beryl Reid's character on a TV show being written off (the show.) Her relationship with roommate Susannah York is very interesting. But, suffice it to say, Beryl is very dominating, possessive, and demanding. She wants to know where she's been all the time and likes to throw her weight around. At middle age and with extra weight, she is no longer the beauty she once was, and, as someone points out to her late in the film, she is not the ideal desired sex object for young women. To describe this film with mere words really doesn't do the film justice. Granted Beryl's performance is the whole show. But the movie is an experience you're not likely to forget, especially with a love scene between two ladies near the end of it. Coral Browne is quite good and memorable in her role as well. But "The Killing of Sister George" belongs to Beryl Reid and this film's hard-to-find status is only hurting people's chances at seeing Ms. Reid at her best.

"Sister George" turns out to be an unpleasant person to spend 2 1/2 hours with. She's loud and obnoxious, with a hair-trigger temper, and is prone to throwing screaming tantrums over even trivial matters; one wonders how she managed to keep her job as long as she did. This doesn't help the movie, which as a whole is big and broad and overstated; there's a slapstick quality to even the dramatic moments. The dialogue is fatuous and artless; people shout and argue a lot but no one really says anything. I'm no film student, but even the direction seemed bad. As if the words weren't obvious enough, there are lots of lingering close-ups of the actors giving exaggerated facial reactions to slam home the idea of what they're supposed to be feeling. There's a scene in a very small, very crowded lesbian club, and the way the camera weaves through the crowd, showing various same-sex couples slow-dancing, is supposed to be shocking and salacious, but only comes off as rather clumsy. Most of the subtlety in the film is reserved for the glimpses we get of "Applehurst", a gentle soap opera (parody) on which "Sister George" is a featured character. I've read that the author of the play from which the movie is taken has said that it wasn't supposed to be a serious study of lesbianism, and that's good, because it isn't. The relationship between Beryl Reid and Susannah York is distasteful: verbally and psychologically abusive with hints of sado-masochism. The film reinforces those awful stereotypes of older, butch lesbians preying on younger, more feminine women.One of the few elements of the movie that kept me watching was Coral Browne. She made an interesting contrast with Beryl Reid; Browne is actually more mannish-looking than Reid, with a large, strong face, but this is offset by her elegant style of dress and manner. Whereas Reid is all bombast and outwardly-exploding emotion, Browne's character is controlled and well-spoken, exuding an icy, almost reptilian vibe. Her sex scene with York is the movie's apex of unintentional humor, though; the faces she makes as she's bringing York to climax had me rolling.I would say the film's chief merit is as a curio of its time, and the then rarity of the subject matter with which it deals, however ridiculously.

I don't give many movies 10/10, but this black comedy-drama gets my vote, for fine acting, production values, and of course its place in movie history in the frank portrayal of lesbian relationships.Others have & will comment on the latter, so I'll point out some of the other aspects of this fine film. The combination of comedy with personal tragedy poses difficult problems both for the writer & director; here they both succeed brilliantly.The three principals' performances are riveting. I particularly liked the ambiguity of Coral Brown's portrayal of Mercy Croft; watch her carefully in the tight closeups in the gay club, and notice how the down-turned mouth at times hides a hint of a self-satisfied smile.The cinematography deserves special mention. The use of colour is beautiful; I was reminded of "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", but it never steps over the line into unreality. On the contrary, the alleys of London, the TV studio and above all the stairs and corridor of the flat are supremely realistic. Most unusual is the use of chiaroscuro, the interplay of light-and-shadow, seldom seen outside of black & white films. In so many colour films the light appears to come from some amorphous omnidirectional source out of science fiction; great for lighting everything and everybody evenly, but unrealistic and DULL. Look at the shadows as Beryl Reid ('George') enters the apartment building and climbs the stairs, or in some of the bedroom scenes. Apart from its other many virtues, this movie held my attention as a fine piece of film-making.All in all, a masterpiece; my one regret is that it was shown on TV in pan-and-scan. It IS now available in DVD - in several formats & regions - so I look forward to watching it again in its original form.

The Killing of Sister George (1968) THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE tells the story of June Buckridge, a middle-aged actress who portrays "Sister George" in a cosy weekly British TV soap opera called "Applehurst".In the show June, as "Sister George", is a sweet and charming District Nurse loved by all, but off-screen she has a more sinister side to her personality: she's a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, cigar smoking lesbian, totally insecure in her relationship with the much younger Alice "Childie" McNaught (Susannah York).Into this insecure relationship arrives the spidery Mrs. Mercy Croft (Coral Browne), who indirectly gets June sacked from her television role and seduces June's lover into the bargain.Beryl Reid is sensational as June Buckridge. Using a wide variety of acting skills she makes the character completely her own. It's a memorable performance, but perhaps a bit too theatrical at times.Coral Browne fairs a bit better and simply oozes fake charm and arch superiority. She's positively malevolent. Her every line of dialogue and facial expression seem to drip with evil intent. What a great performance.Susannah York is a bit hard to take as "Childie". She's simply the wrong actress for the role because she appears to be too old and her personality is too "strong" for someone who is supposed to have been dominated by her lover.The film, directed by Robert Aldrich, will be a bit too full-on for most audiences. In the play on which the film was based, the lesbian relationship was only hinted at, never really mentioned. But in the film, however, Aldrich hits you over the head with it again and again.Be warned: the trip to The Gateways Club (a lesbian bar) maybe a bit too shocking even in this day and age for some viewers.A good film, but it could do with some pruning, but definitely worth seeing for Beryl Reid and Coral Browne's performances.