“The Party” from Hell
Sally Potter's newest tale is a soirée gone awry
In honor of every uncomfortable New Year’s Eve party you’ve ever attended, director Sally Potter (Orlando) brings together a group of seven frenemies for a dinner party given by Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) to celebrate her new promotion. However, as soon as the first cork of champagne is let loose, so are the true feelings of this bourgeois group of malcontents. There’s the stupefied husband (Timothy Spall) with a big secret, the lesbian couple (Cherry Jones and Emily Mortimer) who are newly impregnated, the snide best friend (Patricia Clarkson) who is never at a loss for words, and the snotty banker (Cillian Murphy) who’s about to learn some not so good news about his wife.
Clocking in at just 70 minutes, this black & white, high-strung portrait of modern relationships verges on a Woody Allen film, complete with some comedy, some tragedy, and whole lot of pathos.
The Party opens on February 16th. Just don’t forget to RSVP.
