A Breath of Life In Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool — Review
The message of love above all facades is the strongest takeaway from this British film focused on family, hope, and beauty in the unusual.
Gloria Grahame’s glory was justified in the early days of her small-town girl role in big time classic ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ & ‘Oklahoma!’ The retro retrospect of her is the centre of attention in Paul McGuigan’s 2017 reinvention of her later years. Based on the book by Pete Turner, ‘Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool’ may show that love conquers all, yet how right is it when a pair of lovers are so questionable? Fading glory turns Gloria to dust, as trouble catches up with her in the aftermath of once bursting life. Decades following ‘Billy Elliot’, audiences are too reminded that Jamie Bell, who plays Peter, can very much dance and is a wonderful asset to McGuigan’s love letter to fame and English culture.
Warmth and tenderness in McGuigan’s unique tale take centre force, as the focus on compassion above all is there. British films focus on the stripped-back, sometimes cynical, and rigid nature of life. And this is where the heart in them lies, as McGuigan shows no failings on this front. We are brought into what is now a former actress’ later life when moving to do theatre in Liverpool, and in next to a budding young actor’s flat. Once famed Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening) and newcomer, Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) already summon up a spark when meeting in the hallways of their living quarters in Primrose Hill, London. Following the years from 1979–1981, their unlikely friendship develops into an unlikely romance, coined as taboo, given their three-decade age gap. The sweet and gentle romance is what lit her up in her final years, as her battery ran low and career was fraying at the seams. Upon grasping onto her last moments as a performer standing in the now dusty light, her attempts to remain relevant onstage in the UK in her later age don’t stand strongly. The pathos of life catches up with her, as when collapsing in her before a performance, Grahame is given the diagnosis of cancer.
Gentle and saddening, a sense of melancholy and the afterglow of what once was is ever-present in McGuigans take on a star that was born but is dying. The thematic focus of this piece of cinema, and how it relates to Gloria’s camera reel running out is extraordinary, which again, British films do best. The focus on the beauty of humanity no matter age, class, ego, meaning, or painful circumstance is there. We get an inside look into a Liverpudlian household, as Gloria bunks with Peter’s family following her diagnosis. This mismatched romance is not as uncomfortable or amusing as say characters in a film like ‘Harold & Maude’, but is rather focused on the beauty in difference. Gloria and Peter even reference and speak of playing Romeo & Juliet, as there is a Capulet and Montague complex within their love, as their age, nationality, and social status completely differ. Yet, the nature of their relationship and why they connect is rarely mentioned, as occasions seem to rather occur & they instantly get on, with no such inspiration or explanation as to why.
Yet, can we call this beautiful or off-putting? McGuigan certainly does a successful job of painting it out to be more than romantic, especially for a peculiar love that should be uncomfortable and looked at from down the nose. Yet was this the true nature of Gloria Grahame? Briefly mentioned was the great controversy of Grahame’s strange relationship with her 13-year old-stepson, before her affair with Peter. The silver screen sirens affair had shattered her career when the news of it was brought to the public, a decade after it happened.
Though only touched on by McGaugin, it did have Grahame’s career pushed out of the spotlight and was a huge contributing factor to the sad burnout of the woman. Where there is beauty in the romance of two star-crossed lovers like Gloria and Peter, the reality behind the tale with reminders like this does show more of what Grahame’s twisted nature was about. Yet, its reasoning for simply being brushed over could be to do with the dedication to stay accurate to the setting and time of Liverpool in the late 70s. In today’s social climate, this case would absolutely have cancel culture written all over it.
Nevertheless, McGaugin seems to still perceive Grahame as a burnt-out cigarette; a pitiful victim of life who still, not desperately, but noticeably clings to the glory of Old Hollywood. Where the film reel ends, Gloria doesn’t seem to. She drinks milk out of champagne flutes, takes Peter to the cinema, and speaks with a Marilyn Monroe-esque tone when she overtly flirts with him right off the bat. We are treated to the aesthetics of the past, the way in which Gloria speaks on how she used to stand alongside Humphrey Bogart on the silver screen. All in all, it is a beautiful piece of cinema about cinema, as we as an audience simultaneously explore the history of film, alongside the result of one of its cherished stars.
And Annette Bening herself does an incredible job of bringing pieces of strength, glimmer, and the beauty of hope to shine through. Yet it does appear relatively corny, bombastic and one-dimensional at times. Possibly the animated gestures and seductive tone was a bit much at times, yet Grahame also seemed a bit mad. Nevertheless, her performance outweighs the simple plot line. And simple the plot line is but remains simply beautiful. As things play out, it does seem quite 2D. The underground, indie nature of the picture could be contributing to this, yet however much interest there was, it still could have packed more of a punch. Bening does make amends as she figuratively turns Gloria’s life into a cabaret and performance, showing how Grahame clings onto a time that is gone & cannot settle into the present.
It seems that by dating young Peter, she herself is sent back into being the blonde starlet in love with her young, dashing leading man. From the opening scene, we see she hasn’t let go of the shining sparkle of the 1950s, as the opening scene has Bening opting for a Marilyn-inspired makeup look, as she lights a cigarette, all the while looking into a bulb lit mirror in her dressing room. She signs a letter left for Peter with ‘xx GG’, as though it’s an autograph, and mentions the lampshade in a Los Angeles bar that has her face engraved on it, as an homage to Old Hollywood.
Jamie Bell as Peter also doesn’t miss a beat, as he establishes every emotion necessary to the awkward and growing love between a couple far apart. Stephen Farber from The Hollywood Reporter quotes, ‘Jamie Bell is absolutely riveting, his most memorable performance since Billy Elliot.’ And he is great, though less exuberant than Bening, his performance as Peter shows the sensitive quietness of a local Liverpudlian seeming to struggle with his career, and somewhat leaning into hers for support and inspiration. There is never any deep delving into Peter as a person, which I thought could be interesting to the dynamic: the fact that he is a budding actor and could’ve had a plot line with his possible professional interest in Grahame. His normality combined with Gloria’s American cliches makes for an interesting relationship, as we see the beauty of how people simply connect, no matter the circumstance.
In moments of tragedy, ‘Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool’ does excel, with the focus on family and compassion standing out. Gloria’s divide between now disheveled and then shining shows more than ever when she breaks down during her time with cancer. McGaugin splits the emotions in half, the joyous moments come first & halfway through the film, the unexpected interruption that is Grahame’s diagnosis cuts coldly at the sunshiny atmosphere that was set up. The nature of British films is to evoke a sense of deep emotion, to which these harrowing scenes do bring, as well as showing the relationship between Peter’s family and Gloria. During her collapse and death, Peter’s family are there to support every step, showing the quirky scenario of an Old Hollywood actress in a working-class Liverpudlian household. Gloria’s death is strung out, yet necessarily so as it adds to the importance of her perspective, as she spends every waking moment denying her ageing. The montage of a miscommunication between lovers towards the latter half of the film does show some beautiful cinematography and score work, as Bening and Bell dance around their emotions with tilted camera angles, strung-out violin accompaniment, and solemn looks from the two.
At its core, McGaugin’s interpretation of the latter years of Gloria Grahame in ’Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool’ is relatively strong in that it never loses its heart and soul. The sentiment of ‘a real actor never dies’ is carried by Bening throughout the performance of Grahame, every step and detail from her costumes to her tone or corny one-liners defining this. The message of love above all facades is the strongest takeaway from this British film focused on family, hope, and beauty in the unusual.
Stars Out of Five: 3/5
