DVD Review: The L-Shaped Room (1962)
As well as The Raging Moon, another Bryan Forbes movie is getting a DVD reissue this month - The L-Shaped Room, which got lead actress Leslie Caron a well-deserved Oscar nomination in 1964.
It's not obvious Oscar territory - The L-Shaped Room (based on the Lynne Reid Banks novel) is probably labeled as British New Wave or indeed kitchensink if you prefer. Either way, it's a slice of realism set in the Notting Hill area of London, long before the in-crowd took house prices through the roof.
Leslie Caron plays Jane Fossett, a stranger in London, on the run from her French family and the fallout from her pregnancy. After a long search, she finally finds a place to stay within her budget - a rundown house inhabited by an assortment of social misfits. Gradually, these strangers become her friends and in the case of writer Toby, much more. But that happiness starts to falter when Toby finally discovers Jane is pregnant.
Without doubt, this is Leslie Caron's movie. In fact, she appears in and dominates just about every scene from start to finish. But she doesn't single-handedly make this a great movie - that's down to some top-notch direction and a very strong supporting cast.
Bryan Forbes does a superb job of sympathetically translating the novel to the big screen - and as director, bringing it to life. Every character is perfectly formed and in their own way, slightly tragic - from the lovestruck Toby on the first floor (played superbly by the much underrated Tom Bell) through to Sonia, the call girl in the basement (Pat Phoenix). And the location shots only add to the impact - decaying London streets, the basement jazz club (where neighbour Johnny leads the local jazz combo), Fred's cafe and of course, the house itself - small, damp and bug-ridden - you can almost smell the rooms through the screen.
It all combines to make this one of the classics of sixties British cinema. A masterclass in both direction and writing and a cast that makes this slice of realism very real.
You really should own it.
Extras on the DVD:
None
More about the DVD at Amazon.co.uk

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