RICHARD'S THINGS (1980)

I remember being rather impressed at the time that the great Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann was making a film in England. If I am right, this film, premiered on television in England. I know I watched it at the time but seeing it again nearly thirty years later revealed how little I recall about the plot. Liv plays a woman whose husband has a heart attack while on a business trip and subsequently dies. At the hospital she discovers that he had being travelling with his mistress (played by a very young Amanda Redman). She tracks the girl down with revenge in mind but finds herself being seduced both emotionally and physically. The film seems surprisingly dated now and, it has to be said, a bit pretentious. But it is quite watchable thanks to the performances. Liv Ullmann is hardly stretched by a role that she could have played in her sleep (let's face it, her eyelashes could act most other actresses off the screen!) and she is more than ably supported by Miss Redman as the bi-sexual lover. Tim Piggott-Smith is the reliable friend (tweedie clothes, pipe and beard were standard reliable accessories back then) who leads the adequate supporting cast. I quite enjoyed it even if I didn't really get to involved with the characters. Rating ***