• Film

Keeping Mum

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Time Out says

A would-be black comedy in a rural British setting, this sees vicar Walter Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson, of course) employing a housekeeper, Grace (Maggie Smith), who just happens to be a released murderer. Equally unimaginative casting comes in the form of Kristin Scott Thomas as a foul-mouthed, frustrated wife and Patrick Swayze as a pervy American golf pro who gets the village ladies in a spin. Grace sets about solving the Rev Goodfellow’s family problems in her own unique style while the family engage in farcical sitcom banter (sometimes funny, sometimes not). It’s like dumping a serial killer into a very, very long episode of ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ and expecting it to work: there’s no artful black comedy here, just an uncomfortable clash between broad provincial humour and a murder plotline. The central cast are up to the job: Smith deadpans delightfully when she can, and Atkinson upgrades his bumbling ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ performance to mildly amusing effect. But despite its genial characters, ‘Keeping Mum’ is an undisciplined, ultimately unsuccessful experiment in British black comedy.

Release Details

  • Rated:15
  • Release date:Friday 2 December 2005
  • Duration:103 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Niall Johnson
  • Cast:
    • Rowan Atkinson
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Maggie Smith
    • Patrick Swayze
    • Emilia Fox
    • Liz Smith
    • Tamsin Egerton
    • James Booth
    • Toby Parkes
    • Jack Ryan
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