Brimstone & Treacle

1982

Drama / Thriller

3
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 1810 1.8K

home invasion gothic house guest uninvited guest threat to family homme fatale

Plot summary

A strange young man has a sinister effect on the family of a middle-aged writer.

Director

Richard Loncraine Photo
Richard Loncraine

Top cast

Sting Photo
Sting as Martin Taylor
Benjamin Whitrow Photo
Benjamin Whitrow as Businessman
Dudley Sutton Photo
Dudley Sutton as Stroller
Tim Preece Photo
Tim Preece as Clergyman
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
800.42 MB
1200*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 4
1.45 GB
1800*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 13

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by tresdodge 7 / 10

Disturbing yet engrossing film

A middle class commuter belt couple Mr Bates (Denholm Elliot) and Mrs Bates (Joan Plowright) are duped into taking a charming young man Martin(Sting)into their house to help care for their catatonic daughter (Suzanna Hamilton). Martin claims to have been close to their daughter before an accident left her unable to communicate. As the film progresses the couple mistakenly start to trust Martin and dark family secrets are revealed.Originally a stage play written by Dennis Potter the film is in turn engrossing, disturbing and claustrophobic. Denholm Elliot is as ever brilliant as the lonely and disturbed father figure, Sting puts in a good performance as a strange and demonic young man, Joan Plowright is very good as the maternal and naive housewife.The two slight let downs for me were the music which I did'nt feel fitted in well with the film and the main fantasy sequence which did'nt stand the test of time well.Other than that the film held my attention throughout, the direction by Richard Loncraine was extremely capable, all in all an intriguing and idiosyncratic piece which is well worth a watch.
Reviewed by saintetiennelee 7 / 10

Not as good as the BBC TV play but....

I really enjoyed Denholm Elliott's performance in this film. He's so bitter and gnarled up that his outbursts are brilliant and quite funny. Obviously the sick manner of the story is the same as the Play for Today, it's delivered well if not as successful as the TV version, although I've not seen that version for a long time so maybe the memory cheats a little.Nothing wrong with Stings performance in this film but he he just didn't have the screen presence for me to completely convince.I enjoyed this film more than I expected and it's good to see it get a repeat here in the UK on London Live channel. 7/10.
Reviewed by capkronos 7 / 10

Very intriguing allegorical thriller

Polite, mannered drifter Martin Taylor (Sting) charms his way into the home of Thomas Bates (Denholm Elliott), an outwardly upright publisher of religious text, his simple-minded, devout wife Norma (Joan Plowright) and their catatonic daughter Patricia (Suzanna Hamilton), whom he claims to know. Martin is allowed to stay in the home for a couple of days, cooks, cleans, "cares" for the daughter and tries to help the couple through their marital problems, but he's also the catalyst that forces some dark secrets out of the family closet.Sting's character will either annoy or fascinate you as he exists solely as an enigma, representing angel or demon, or possibly both. Originally a play, this film never quite escapes the stage, but that only feeds into the claustrophobia of the stuffy household and guilt-ridden, lonely characters who inhabit it, and, all in all, it's an intriguing allegory on the nature of good and evil that has a lot to offer, including potent religious imagery, a knockout nightmare/fantasy sequence and a good score (plus songs by The Police) all driven home by excellent performances by the three leads and assured direction by Richard Loncraine.Dennis Potter's script was previously filmed in 1976 for BBC (that version also starred the great Denholm Elliott).
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