THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS 15

1990 OUT NOW Dual Format EXTRAS Commentary, Masterclass, Interview, Newsreels, Booklet

Novel by Ian McEwan, script by Harold Pinter… quite a pedigree. And Paul Schrader’s movie more than lives up to it. Natasha Richardson and Rupert Everett are the young couple visiting Venice in the hope of reviving their faltering relationship, while Christopher Walken (at his most chillingly cold-eyed) and Helen Mirren are the seemingly hospitable pair who harbour secretly sinister intentions. All four play off each other superbly, while Schrader’s use of Venice rivals Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now for sheer haunting atmosphere. Philip Kemp