THE OPTIMISTS OF NINE ELMS
UK, 1974, 109 minutes, Colour.
Peter Sellers.
Directed by Anthony Simmons.
The Optimists sounds more cheerful than, in fact, the film is. While there is comedy and an excellent Peter Sellers performance, the film is rather serious in its underlying tone. Sellers is an old-fashioned, ageing music-hall man, living with his old dog, his old clothes, his patter and his memories. Confronted by two children from a dingy London estate, suspicion turns into friendship and some happiness and then sadness for all. The children are presented realistically and not cutely as in so many films. The film is suitable for all audiences. It is delightful but it also has a strength in its human observations.
1. To whom did the title refer? Why?
2. How happy a film was this? Too good to be true? Sentiment? Hope? How realistic is the title? How ironic?
3. How real was the film? The world of London, the estate of Nine Elms, the life of the children and their poverty, home life, the father working and not being seen. the hardship for mother, the need for playing, the friendship with the old man, the details of life in London? How much of this world was fantasy? The creation of a world centered on the children, imagining Sam as a kind of hero, Bella as a wonderful dog, and the yearning for a dog? How did realism clash with fantasy? How did fantasy give some meaning to realism?
4. How did the film depend on nostalgia in the audience? The contrast of the past and present? The credit sequence and the photos? The songs and the music hall patter? The romance of a past age and its entertainment style? Peter Sellers' performance within this atmosphere? How enjoyable was the nostalgia? Why?
5. Modern England and modern London. The ugliness of the past remaining in poverty and slums? The reality of the present life in gloomy suburbs? The ugliness of this world? People living and changing and growing within this ugliness? What comment did the film make on this?
6. Situations and dialogue? The performance of Sam? The humour of the dialogue, the songs and the patter? The old routines of the busker? The dog?
7. Were you attracted by Sam? Why did the children think he was barmy? Was he? What was the purpose of Sam's life? Who made him eccentric? Was he lonely? Why did he love Bella so much? Suspicious of humans? His remembering the former glories? Why was he alone? The reality of death? In himself and in Bella? The emphasis and atmosphere of death around him? The fact that he lived in a decayed house?
8. Were the children attractive? Real? The harshness of their attitudes and life? The warmth that was really in them? How much did they change by their encounter with Sam? With the dog? With achieving the ambition of owning a dog? The ambition of moving to another part of the Estate? What insight into the children's life did the film give?
9. Was the portrayal of their parents realistic? The father and his continual work? The mother and her work? Details of this? Home life and the arguments? Bringing home the dog - after the visit to the father at the factory? The nature of the relationship between husband and wife? Moving to the other flat? Their love for their children? Their harshness with the children, and the children picking up this harshness?
10. How did this contrast with the relating of Sam and the children? The tentative beginnings, the suspicion, Sam's wanting them to go away? The nature of the outings? Their entry into his home? The visit to the cemetery? Buying the dog and saving up for it? The overall importance of burying Bella in the cemetery?
11. How well handled were the situations which centered on the dogs? Did they blend with the presentation of Sam and the children? The contrast of their feelings with their parents? The father searching for the children? His final abuse of Sam?
12. How was this small world a mirror of the wider modern world? How intense was the feeling in this film? After reflection on it, was it a film of optimism? Why?
