Directed by Lindsay Anderson and based on David Storey’s 1969 play, “In Celebration” boasts all of the original stage cast members.
A mining town in Derbyshire, England. The Shaw family, including their three sons, gathers to celebrate Mr. and Mrs. Shaw’s 40th wedding anniversary. Mr. Shaw (Bill Owen) has worked as a coal miner for nearly 50 years. Andrew (Alan Bates), the eldest son, once a solicitor, has abandoned the law to pursue painting. Colin (James Bolam), the middle son, was once a member of the Communist Party. Now, a successful but unfulfilled industrial relations manager, he’s gay but in the closet. Steven (Brian Cox), the youngest, is a schoolteacher with four children who has abandoned a book he had been writing. Over the course of the evening, a dark family history emerges.
Like “Butley,” this is another filmed stage play starring Alan Bates that does not attempt to hide its origins. However, the performers are so engaging that you stay with them. All of the actors have their moments, with Bates making the most significant impression. James Bolam’s Colin’s homosexuality is never discussed, paralleling other family secrets that lie buried from child neglect, to a suicide attempt, to a death in the family. However, there is enough queer-coding to convey the point, although, for most of the film, he’s little more than a sounding board for Bates’ character’s witty asides. And it’s fascinating to see Brian Cox in an early role – one of those lucky actors who reached a mass audience later in life, you never think of him as being young, but here he is!
With Constance Chapman as the mother who married beneath her and Gabrielle Day as their nosy but sweet-hearted next-door-neighbor.
The film was part of Ely Landau’s American Film Theatre series, which adapted stage plays for cinema with subscription screenings.
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75 Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code 1934-1967 – TheBrownees
75 Queer Films from the New Hollywood (1968-1980). – TheBrownees
