Kiss of Death (1977 made-for-TV film)
Encyclopedia
The Kiss of Death is a 1977 BBC TV film.
Mike Leigh
directed 'this whimsical, made-for-television tale about Trevor, (David Threlfall
), an unusually bashful mortician's assistant', whose moods and personality really make up the subject of the film. A natural landscape for Leigh's offbeat and bleakly humorous worldview. Leigh has often said the film is one of his favourites, not least because Trevor contains certain autobiographical elements.
Trevor and his friend Ronnie form a foursome with Linda and Sandra. A brake on Trevor's joy in life 'is the factual premonition of everyday death', and the central incident of a cot death affects him profoundly.
, who wrote in a 1996 study of Leigh's work : "The kissing part of The Kiss of Death is an extraordinary scene. Linda and Trevor are on a sofa, she chewing away, he nervously amused but not exactly apprehensive...The playing of Kay Adshead and David Threlfall indicates every stage of this sexual jousting match with faultless accuracy and perception. We glimpse ... an entire catalogue of human emotions in the mating game: anxiety, cruelty, affection, wonder, contempt and playfulness. This is how love scenes are endured in life, not in the movies, but distilled and refined for this movie."
Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh
Michael "Mike" Leigh, OBE is a British writer and director of film and theatre. He studied theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and studied further at the Camberwell School of Art and the Central School of Art and Design. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s...
directed 'this whimsical, made-for-television tale about Trevor, (David Threlfall
David Threlfall
David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
), an unusually bashful mortician's assistant', whose moods and personality really make up the subject of the film. A natural landscape for Leigh's offbeat and bleakly humorous worldview. Leigh has often said the film is one of his favourites, not least because Trevor contains certain autobiographical elements.
Trevor and his friend Ronnie form a foursome with Linda and Sandra. A brake on Trevor's joy in life 'is the factual premonition of everyday death', and the central incident of a cot death affects him profoundly.
Critical responses
The film is highly regarded by the critic Michael CoveneyMichael Coveney
Michael Coveney is a British theatre critic. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Stamford Hill and Worcester College, Oxford....
, who wrote in a 1996 study of Leigh's work : "The kissing part of The Kiss of Death is an extraordinary scene. Linda and Trevor are on a sofa, she chewing away, he nervously amused but not exactly apprehensive...The playing of Kay Adshead and David Threlfall indicates every stage of this sexual jousting match with faultless accuracy and perception. We glimpse ... an entire catalogue of human emotions in the mating game: anxiety, cruelty, affection, wonder, contempt and playfulness. This is how love scenes are endured in life, not in the movies, but distilled and refined for this movie."