Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Sir Anthony Hopkins brings dignity and poignancy to a role that most actors of his ilk may shun for fear of either being typecast or remembered poorly. James is a man who let himself be defined by his profession in a day and age where servants were noble and noblemen were fools.

James Ivory's "The Remains of the Day" is a movie with one of the best movie set designs that I have ever seen and it is very well made. The movie was adapted from the 1989 novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro and the screenplay was written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who also wrote Oscar winning screenplays for "A Room with a View" (1986), and "Howards End" (1992) both which I didn't get the chance to see yet. The movie stars Anthony Hopkins as James Stevens a man who has been working as a butler for several years for a man named Jack Lewis (Christopher Reeve) during the post WWII years Stevens would eventually fall in love with a housekeeper named Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) in Britain. Ivory has been known to direct romance movies but this is one of the most well shot and well acted, it isn't a great movie but is a good one but it doesn't rank with some of the best romance movies ever made. When I watched this movie a few years ago I was left with some unanswered questions which were Who was Stevens really as a person?, Why was Lewis misguiding him and many more. Another problem that I had with this movie was that Jhabvala's screenplay doesn't help us to really figure out who the characters really as people but she does do a good job at generating a little bit of empathy for the Anthony Hopkins character. The movie also has a lot of good things about most importantly the cast, as well as Tony Pierce Roberts' cinematography which was really good, and besides the set the costumes were nothing short of brilliant. I'm hoping that the other two Ivory films that I listed are much better than this one despite the fact that I happened to like this one.

I wouldn't consider this film excellent or very good because it was rather long and I found Anthony Hopkins' character as a Butler, was rather selfish. Now, I know butlers have to be professional and what not, but I just think he was over the top with his job by always saying no or being faulty when it comes to others. I have to say though on the positive side, he was quite good at looking after the father before he died. I really liked Emma Thompson's character, she really knew what she was talking about and knows how to do stuff right! I honestly thought that herself and Anthony Hopkins character were going to kiss. The way the poster looked and is meant to be a romance/drama film, it didn't happen and I was rather annoyed that it tricked me into thinking that was part of the story! Seriously, can't this film just be different for once instead of the storyline being rather dull?!The scenery was beautiful including the mansion! It would definitely bring you back to the 1950's! I would rather forget that this was a film and just only admire the background. It would make it a lot better for me to watch the film happily!

I guess you could call this a romance story about a love that is never obtained. And as such, it is both bittersweet and brilliant.I love HOWARDS END (the other film Emma Thompson & Anthony Hopkins made with Merchant Ivory), but I think this production is perhaps just a bit better. I like how they refuse to give us the obligatory happy ending for these two characters-- he stagnates, but she changes considerably through her marriage to another man. I think if she had left her husband and gotten together with him at the end, it would have been a step backward for her, and I am glad they didn't do that. It's a beautiful film with a poignant story.