-James Stevens, The Remains of the Day
TOP 100 FILMS OF ALL TIME
No. 24: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
(James Ivory, 1993)
Anthony Hopkins gives one of the best performances of the 90s with his portrayal of James Stevens, cinema’s most restrained, repressed character.
Remains is one of the much-derided Ivory Merchant canon, but for me, it’s one of the best, most moving love stories ever told. Stevens is a butler to the weakest rich man in England, Emma Thompson plays Miss Kenton, the housekeeper. Their love is palpable but never expressed, and they only touch twice. The last being the moment they say goodbye.
There is a scene in particular, where Miss Kenton insists on knowing what book Stevens is reading, that burns in my mind as one of the sexiest scenes in recent cinema.
In the DVD commentary Emma Thompson says that every time, after shooting this scene, she doesn’t know why but she feels like fainting. Apparently just feeling Anthony Hopkins’ gaze on her caused her to literally stop breathing.
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Remains is also the punchlines in one of the funniest lines in a movie ever: “Kids don’t like eating at school. But if they’ve got a Remains of the Day lunchbox, they’re a lot happier.” From Waiting for Guffman. If you haven’t seen it, you’re stupid.
