The Remains of the Day (1993)

This is one of Anthony Hopkins' most nuanced and classy performances, depicting the last of a dying breed of upper servants in the stately home of "Lord Darlington" (James Fox). It's told by way of a retrospective as he takes some time off from his work as butler to American millionaire "Lewis" (Christopher Reeve) and goes for a drive to meet the former housekeeper "Miss Kenton" (Emma Thompson). The theme has two threads. The first concerning the peer for whom he worked for a great period of his career. This is a man who believed in what turned out to be a flawed gentlemen's code of honour and decency when it came to dealing with the rise of the Nazis. The second featured a more personal take on his life, reconciling his duties with the failing health of his now under-butler father (Peter Vaughan) as well as his relationship with a determined and new "Kenton". The attention to detail on this production is meticulous; the characterisations are convincing and engaging - the unconditional loyalty of "Stevens"; the decent naivety of "Darlington" and finally, the strong performance from Thompson that acts nicely as a conduit from the days of old to the more modern times where the deference and service culture that gave "Stevens" his purpose (and comfort blanket) are now gone. This story offers a wonderful illustration of the how the consequences of WWI started the now inevitable process of change to a social structure that had endured for centuries, exposing the leadership class - which took such a dim view of their underling "sheep" as out of touch and, for all their education, no longer fit for purpose: any purpose! It's a gently paced affair and that helps us to engage with this fine adaptation of the Ishiguro novel that, though applied here to the last days of Imperial Britain, could apply to many a nation in what was still a largely family run Europe.