Lambie Reviews The Servant

Year:1963
Accolades: One of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die

A young wealthy man, Tony, hires a manservant, Barrett, after he moves back to England from a stint in Africa. Barrett seems to do a pretty good job in the eyes of Tony, but Tony's fiance, Susan, doesn't like Barrett one bit. Barrett then convinces Tony to hire a maid, Vera, who also happens to be Barrett's sister... Or so he says, because suddenly all is not what it seems to be.

The first half of this film is fantastic. It starts off normal enough, and you are very early on left wondering where the film is heading. Then Barrett calls up Vera in a public phone booth, and his demeanour has changed dramatically. You immediately know that something else is going on. The film is expertly constructed to ramp up the tension. Is Vera really Barrett's sister? Because they seem to be very close... What are Vera and Barrett's plans?

There is an absolutely fantastic scene in which Vera seduces Tony. Apart from the dialogue, a dripping tap dominates the soundtrack, and at the same time makes the tension almost unbearable. Will Tony go for Vera? Why is Vera going for Tony is she's got a thing with Barrett? Is this part of some grander scheme?

And then, when everyone is caught out and the film would logically end a few scenes later, it keeps going for about 45 minutes. The film degenerates into a what felt more like a montage of scenes than something that coherently followed the dramatic first half of the plot. It's meant to demonstrate the way in which Barrett has destroyed Tony's life, but it just doesn't work.

Sometimes the two get along like the best of friends, and other times they absolutely despise each other. The mood swings of the film at this point made it very difficult to keep track of what was meant to be happening. And then the film just ends, without really resolving the plot points it introduced in the second half. It was such a disappointment after such a great, intriguing start.