1/5
The linguistic wit and thrust of Noel Coward s play have been replaced by posh-speak pastiche and ham-fisted narrative gambits
15 January 2021 • 10:56am
Judi Dench in Blithe Spirit
Credit: StudioCanal
12A cert, 96 min. Dir: Edward Hall. Cast: Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Judi Dench, Emilia Fox, Julian Rhind-Tutt
If you’ve spent the last nine months pining for some light relief in the theatre, a sparky screen adaptation of Blithe Spirit might be just what you need. Good news! Such a mood-boosting marvel exists, and has done since 1945. Directed by David Lean, and starring Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond and Margaret Rutherford, it’s available to rent from Amazon or Apple TV, or stream on BritBox. On the other hand, if top-to-toe miscalculations are your bag, by all means help yourself to the 2021 version, which might be an object lesson in what not to do with Coward on screen.