Dvd/150: FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (Paul McGuigan, 2017)

This film of Peter Turner's memoir of his 2 year relationship with Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame is shot through with a sadness that lingers long afterward.

They met in a London boarding house in 1979: he starting out as an actor while she was an Oscar-winning actress returning to the stage as the film work dwindled.  Love blossomed but 18 months later, Gloria abruptly ended it while Peter was with her in New York.

A year later and back in Liverpool, Peter received a call from Gloria; she had collapsed on tour and asked to recuperate with him and his parents.  But Peter discovered she was in fact dying of cancer - the diagnosis of which made her finish their relationship, sparing him the pain.

Paul McGuighan moves from the Turner home to Peter's memories of their relationship with cleverly staged transitions and elicits exquisite performances from his remarkable cast.

Shelf or charity shop?  Probably one for the shelf due to McGuighan's elegiac tone, fine supporting performances from Vanessa Redgrave and Frances Barber as Grahame's mother and embittered sister, and Julie Walters and Kenneth Cranham as the warm-hearted Joe and Bella Turner.  Jamie Bell is outstanding as Peter Turner and Annette Bening is magnificent as Gloria Grahame - loving, angry, hurt, afraid, charismatic, and alone...