peefyn I wish I could rate this higher, but there are parts of it that holds the whole production a bit back.To start with the good stuff, I love the setting. The party next to the party, the older, unhappy people trying to have fun, next to the young and carefree. It's a great set up for allowing the actors to become human characters, as the back drop acts as a constant reminder of what kind of life they're not living, and not having any more. How they themselves are becoming something other than they wanted to be. Their unhappiness comes through well in their acting, but even more so because of the neighboring party.And the characters are also really good. They're all very different, but they're more than arch types. I'm sure the actors playing the parts got a lot of freedom in how to shape the characters, because they all seem to fit them perfectly.With this great back drop, and interesting characters, the whole movie/play ought to be fantastic. And much of it is, with the banter, the conversations, everything said and unsaid. But where the movie falls apart, is where it tries to be dramatic. The ending felt really out of place, and seems more like a way to end the play. There's also a certain sequence with a knife (not much of a spoiler) that feels completely unbelievable. These "plot points" just ruins the realism. The movie still holds up well, but it's a pity that they felt the need to go that far.

Jackson Booth-Millard Directed by Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake), I vaguely knew the concept of this one-off drama in the Play for Today series, and a few clips of it looked interesting, so when I got the opportunity I didn't miss it. Basically eccentric and snobbish Beverly Moss (Alison Steadman) with husband Laurence (Tim Stern) have invited their new neighbours Angela (Janine Duvitski) and Tony (John Salthouse) round for drinks. She has also asked divorced neighbour Susan 'Sue' Lawson (Harriet Reynolds) to come while her daughter Abigail has her fifteenth birthday party downstairs. Laurence stays for a little while and sits back while Beverly tries to entertain and serve drinks to her guests making rather silly small talk, and then he leaves for a quick job. Beverly and the guests talk about easy to drop subjects such as their marriages, children and taste in music, while the host doesn't take a no for an answer asking them to have more alcoholic drinks, and she forces them to share her opinion. Laurence returns to this pretty dull atmosphere where the alcohol is slowly taking effect, and Beverly is resorting to not only boasting, being insensitive and forceful, but it gets worse. Beverly starts flirting with with Tony right in front of her husband, and he tries to get his own back with his snappy attitude when putting on music and asking them to eat and drink stuff. As time goes by Sue does worry a little about what Abigail is getting up to downstairs, but Beverly with her trying to be nice ways wants Laurence and Tony to check, but she doesn't want a fuss. Eventually the snapping from Laurence increases with the playing of the music, the dancing with each other, and the one that really does it, taste in art. It is when Beverly goes to fetch a painting Laurence really hates that the tantrums really kick off, the two female guests sit back with the two men shouting the odds. In the end, Beverly turns hateful to Laurence, who has a heart attack which turns out to be fatal, and Sue calls Abigail downstairs, and something bad happens to her too. You can tell with the one location and mostly made up of dialogue that this was based on a play, but it is actually quite realistic, I can remember situations similar that I have been in. No-one can imagine this without the central performance by Steadman, with her odd voice, repetitive "there we go", "lovely" and "no go on" phrases, and just being completely up herself. It is cringing, and to be honest I found it more uncomfortable (in a good way) than funny, but that is what makes it so good, I would definitely recommend people watch it. Alison Steadman was number 30 on The 50 Greatest British Actresses, Beverly was number 76 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, the programme was number 18 on The 50 Greatest TV Dramas, and it was number 11 on The 100 Greatest TV Shows. Very good!

horseyfly_91 I am currently taking drama as a gcse subject, and this was a play that we had to watch on t.v in a lesson for our coursework. First of all, the whole class thought it would be rubbish and really boring, but how wrong we were! The film is completely brilliant!! Its, cringing and painful to watch at times, others you want to slap at the characters or shout at them but mainly you're rolling around in laughter! Watching this film was definitely a time well spent, and I can't wait until we see it in the theatre! All the characters are completely annoying in their own way, but no one can top Beverly's squeaky voice, and Tony's violent outbursts! This is definitely a play to recommend!!

Marty-G Wow. Abigail's Party - and I am the first person to comment on it? This is certainly an interesting film. In parts it's riotously funny... I mean laugh-out-loud funny... the characters are all obnoxious (except perhaps Sue) with traits that'll make you thank the Lord that they are not your neighbours or friends. The tension just rises and rises through the film... you know it's building up to something big... by the end though it's damn depressing. You hate these characters, you want to shout at them! But the acting is brilliant. Alison Steadman's Beverly full of clichés and tartiness, with a voice that gives you the creeps. Tim Stern (Laurence), the hen-pecked husband, an uptight little weasel and an intellectual snob. Angela (Jane Duvitski), weak and ineffectual, annoying as hell, easily-led, yet comes through the whole thing with more strength than the others. John Salthouse as Tony is a magnificent character, you can feel his anger brewing underneath this quiet exterior. And then there's Susan, played by Harriet Reynolds, whose unseen daughter Abigail is the one having the party. Sue's the one who gets thrown in with all these misfits... poor thing. The setting is claustrophobic, the humour is full on, sometimes though it just gets a little too nasty for words, and leaves a rather bittersweet taste. Funny it may be but it's a bloody painful ride, and though it's looking seriously dated, it's still a fascinating piece of work.