Keeping Mum
Encyclopedia
Keeping Mum is a 2005 British black comedy
film starring Rowan Atkinson
, Kristin Scott Thomas
, Maggie Smith
and Patrick Swayze
.
) rides on a train, her very large trunk starts leaking blood. When questioned by the police, she calmly reveals that the two dismembered bodies inside are of her unfaithful husband and his mistress. She is then sentenced by the judge (Roger Hammond
) to a secure unit for the criminally insane for manslaughter
.
Forty-three years later, in the village of Little Wallop, Walter Goodfellow, the vicar
(Rowan Atkinson
) is very busy writing the perfect sermon
for a conference, having no idea about the problems in his house, which include the unfulfilled sexual needs of his wife Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas
) who subsequently starts an affair with her golf instructor, Lance (Patrick Swayze
); the rebellious nature of his daughter Holly (Tamsin Egerton
) who constantly picks up new boyfriends; and son Petey (Toby Parkes) who is bullied by schoolmates. Then everything changes with the arrival of the new housekeeper Grace (Maggie Smith
).
Walter and Gloria first meet her when they fail to fetch Petey from school and see him strolling with her. Gloria becomes very angry, thinking that Grace is trying to kidnap him and is appeased only when the latter identifies herself by showing an envelope with her name on it. Grace is installed into their lives and learns about some of the problems in the house — Clarence, the neighbour's (Mr. Brown's) nuisance-barking Jack Russell terrier, who disturbs Gloria's sleep; the boys who bully Petey; and the golf instructor with whom Gloria is having an affair. Walter does not know anything about any of this - the only problem he has is the toxic blue-green algae in the garden pond. Grace resolves to solve these problems in her own way. She first kills the dog, Clarence, and when his owner finds out that his dog has been killed, she kills him, too. She sabotages the bullies' bicycles, injuring one of them and thereby making Petey very happy. She catches the golf instructor outside the house one night, videotaping Holly undressing, and kills him with an iron. Around the same time, Walter leaves for a Biblical convention.
However, Grace is discovered when Gloria and Holly see her picture on the television in a news item mentioning her release and previous offences. It is then that Grace reveals that she is Gloria's long-lost mother, Rosie Jones, explaining why she came to Little Wallop in the first place. Gloria attempts to teach Grace that when having a problem with someone, one cannot just kill them but is baffled when Grace says that that is the one thing she and her doctors could never agree on, implying that Grace's condition is beyond treatment. Despite their disagreements, Gloria tries to help Grace remove Lance's body, but cannot face up to it. Over a cup of tea, the three women decide not to tell Walter or Peter any of what has happened.
But all is not over. When nagging congregant Mrs. Parker comes over to discuss the problem of the church flower arranging committee, Grace, under the impression that Mrs. Parker is about to turn them in, attempts to hit her over the head with a frying pan, but is prevented by Gloria. Mrs. Parker, shocked by the murder attempt, has a heart attack and dies. Walter, having just returned from the convention and unaware that she is already dead mutters: "Oh, that flower arranging committee. It'll be the death of her." Soon after this, Grace leaves the family when order seems to be restored among them.
At the end of the film, Walter is talking to Bob and Ted, the water works employees, about the pond at the Vicar's house. They say that there is too much algae and the pond needs to be drained. Gloria knows that Grace disposed of her victims in the pond. Gloria, with a disturbingly cheerful expression, offers the two men some tea
, the film closes with an underwater shot depicting the bodies of Bob and Ted in the pond.
in Cornwall
. Locations on the Isle of Man
were used for all filming outside the village. The outer shots of the train is on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the scene with the car going over a small bridge with the train going over another is just outside of Goathland (Aidensfield in Heartbeat).
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
film starring Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
, Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
and Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
.
Plot
In the opening scene, as pregnant young Rosie Jones (Emilia FoxEmilia Fox
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an award-winning English actress, known for her role as Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. She also appears as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin beginning in the programme's second...
) rides on a train, her very large trunk starts leaking blood. When questioned by the police, she calmly reveals that the two dismembered bodies inside are of her unfaithful husband and his mistress. She is then sentenced by the judge (Roger Hammond
Roger Hammond (actor)
Roger Hammond is an English character actor who has appeared in many films and television series.Hammond attended Cambridge University, and appeared extensively in their drama program, alongside actors such as Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, and John Wood. Following that, he attended the Royal Academy...
) to a secure unit for the criminally insane for manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
.
Forty-three years later, in the village of Little Wallop, Walter Goodfellow, the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
(Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
) is very busy writing the perfect sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
for a conference, having no idea about the problems in his house, which include the unfulfilled sexual needs of his wife Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin Scott Thomas
Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
) who subsequently starts an affair with her golf instructor, Lance (Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
); the rebellious nature of his daughter Holly (Tamsin Egerton
Tamsin Egerton
Tamsin Egerton is an English actress best known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film St Trinian's, Holly Goodfellow in Keeping Mum and Guinevere in the 2011 TV series Camelot.-Career:...
) who constantly picks up new boyfriends; and son Petey (Toby Parkes) who is bullied by schoolmates. Then everything changes with the arrival of the new housekeeper Grace (Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
).
Walter and Gloria first meet her when they fail to fetch Petey from school and see him strolling with her. Gloria becomes very angry, thinking that Grace is trying to kidnap him and is appeased only when the latter identifies herself by showing an envelope with her name on it. Grace is installed into their lives and learns about some of the problems in the house — Clarence, the neighbour's (Mr. Brown's) nuisance-barking Jack Russell terrier, who disturbs Gloria's sleep; the boys who bully Petey; and the golf instructor with whom Gloria is having an affair. Walter does not know anything about any of this - the only problem he has is the toxic blue-green algae in the garden pond. Grace resolves to solve these problems in her own way. She first kills the dog, Clarence, and when his owner finds out that his dog has been killed, she kills him, too. She sabotages the bullies' bicycles, injuring one of them and thereby making Petey very happy. She catches the golf instructor outside the house one night, videotaping Holly undressing, and kills him with an iron. Around the same time, Walter leaves for a Biblical convention.
However, Grace is discovered when Gloria and Holly see her picture on the television in a news item mentioning her release and previous offences. It is then that Grace reveals that she is Gloria's long-lost mother, Rosie Jones, explaining why she came to Little Wallop in the first place. Gloria attempts to teach Grace that when having a problem with someone, one cannot just kill them but is baffled when Grace says that that is the one thing she and her doctors could never agree on, implying that Grace's condition is beyond treatment. Despite their disagreements, Gloria tries to help Grace remove Lance's body, but cannot face up to it. Over a cup of tea, the three women decide not to tell Walter or Peter any of what has happened.
But all is not over. When nagging congregant Mrs. Parker comes over to discuss the problem of the church flower arranging committee, Grace, under the impression that Mrs. Parker is about to turn them in, attempts to hit her over the head with a frying pan, but is prevented by Gloria. Mrs. Parker, shocked by the murder attempt, has a heart attack and dies. Walter, having just returned from the convention and unaware that she is already dead mutters: "Oh, that flower arranging committee. It'll be the death of her." Soon after this, Grace leaves the family when order seems to be restored among them.
At the end of the film, Walter is talking to Bob and Ted, the water works employees, about the pond at the Vicar's house. They say that there is too much algae and the pond needs to be drained. Gloria knows that Grace disposed of her victims in the pond. Gloria, with a disturbingly cheerful expression, offers the two men some tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, the film closes with an underwater shot depicting the bodies of Bob and Ted in the pond.
Cast
- Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
as Reverend Walter Goodfellow - Kristin Scott ThomasKristin Scott ThomasKristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
as Gloria Goodfellow - Maggie SmithMaggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
as "Grace Hawkins" - Patrick SwayzePatrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
as Lance - Tamsin EgertonTamsin EgertonTamsin Egerton is an English actress best known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film St Trinian's, Holly Goodfellow in Keeping Mum and Guinevere in the 2011 TV series Camelot.-Career:...
as Holly Goodfellow - Toby Parkes as Petey Goodfellow
- Liz SmithLiz Smith (actress)Liz Smith, MBE is a British actress, best-known for her roles in the sitcoms The Vicar of Dibley and The Royle Family. She also appeared in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Parker - Emilia FoxEmilia FoxEmilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an award-winning English actress, known for her role as Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. She also appears as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin beginning in the programme's second...
as Rosie Jones - James BoothJames BoothJames Booth was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety of character parts, Booth naturally projected a shifty, wolfish, or unpredictable quality that led inevitably to villainous roles...
as Mr. Brown — the movie was dedicated to Booth, who died the year it was released. - Patrick Monckton as Bob
- Rowley Irlam as Ted
- Vivienne Moore as Mrs. Martin
Filming
The main filming location was in the village of St Michael PenkivelSt Michael Penkivel
St Michael Penkevil, sometimes spelt St Michael Penkivel, is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the valley of the River Fal approximately three miles southeast of Truro....
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Locations on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
were used for all filming outside the village. The outer shots of the train is on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the scene with the car going over a small bridge with the train going over another is just outside of Goathland (Aidensfield in Heartbeat).