Distant Voices, Still Lives( 1988)

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69%

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Score

In memory, everything happens to music.

Overview

Siblings Maisie and Tony, along with their mother, gather for their sister Eileen's wedding. It is a joyous occasion, but through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the family was not always happy. Their father was physically abusive to his wife and left the children emotionally traumatized. As a result, the children have grown into unhappy adults, looking for love they didn't receive when they were young.

Top Billed Cast

Freda Dowie
Mother
Pete Postlethwaite
Father
Angela Walsh
Eileen
Lorraine Ashbourne
Maisie
Dean Williams
Tony
Sally Davies
Eileen as a child
Susan Flanagan
Maisie as a child
Nathan Walsh
Tony as a child
Michael Starke
Dave
Debi Jones
Micky
Vincent Maguire
George
Marie Jelliman
Jingles
Antonia Mallen
Rose
Anne Dyson
Granny
Jean Boht
Aunty Nell
Chris Darwin
Red
Andrew Schofield
Les
Pauline Quirke
Doreen
Carl Chase
Uncle Ted
Alan Bird
Priest
Matthew Long
Mr Spaull
Frances Dell
Margie
Roy Ford
Priest
Terry Melia
Military Policeman
John Thomalla
Military Policeman
John Carr
Registrar
John Michie
Soldier
Jeanette Moseley
Barmaid
Ina Clough
Licensee
Bill Moores
Pubgoer (uncredited)
George Moss
Pubgoer (uncredited)

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A review by CinemaSerf

Written by CinemaSerf on Tue Sep 05 2023

This film is a little like an LP. It has two distinct sides. One "Distant Voices" focuses on just what makes the father of a small family tick. Two - "Still Lives" dwells more on the lives of the children. Unlike on the vinyl though, once we are on that side of the record there are no tracks. The story flits about with a non-consistent chronology to bring us the happy, the sad, the brutal and the gentle and it really does showcase well the acting talents of Pete Postlethwaite as the father. A man of the times, who treats women with scant regard. Not, perhaps, because he is inherently cruel or n...