Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark film, interesting story, and great music., January 5, 2002
Tom Bates (Denholm Elliot) is a writer who pens little religious sentiments for things like greeting cards and hymns. His wife, Norma (Joan Plowright), is a kind and longsuffering woman who spends countless hours looking after their daughter, Patricia (Suzanna Hamilton), who is disabled. After what was thought to be a freak car-pedestrian accident, Patricia needs round-the-clock care. She cannot speak, cannot dress or bathe herself, cannot feed herself and cannot even seem to be cognizant of the daily events going on around her. Tom is convinced that Patricia is mentally `gone' from them forever and she cannot understand anything said about her. Norma, on the other hand, is full of faith that Patricia can hear and understand everything. One day, everything changes. Tom, the disillusioned-with-faith writer of psalms, bumps into Martin Taylor (Sting). Martin claims to have been not just a friend of Patricia's from school, but a boyfriend who loved her enough to ask her to marry him. Tom is naturally suspicious of him, both because he fears Martin might be a con-man and because he is afraid Martin might shed some light on the reasons why Patricia had her accident in the first place. Martin finds out where the Bates family lives and drops in. Norma takes an instant liking to him and persuades Tom to let him stay with them. He and Tom have a number of minor battles but he continually bolsters his image with Norma. He seems to share her faith that God has something miraculous planned for Patricia and he even begins calling Norma "Mumsy." ... The climax of the film arrives late one night when Martin moves in on Patricia. His terrible treatment of her awakens something within her and suddenly she remembers the wicked event that caused her sickness in the first place. Martin flees but the viewer is left with the knowledge that Patricia will tell all and the situation will be made right at last. There is certainly room for speculation, particularly with the title that the film has, that the author is trying to suggest that Martin Taylor's role is not entirely evil yet not entirely good either. Rather than painting him as a demon or an angel, he is more of a character who simply sheds light on things. I consider this to be one of Sting's best film performances if not *the* best, out of his rather lackluster (and I say that with sadness, because I am a fan) movie career. I would recommend this movie to any Sting fan or any follower of Denholm Elliot's career, anyone who enjoys dark and/or indie films and definitely anyone who enjoys trying to crack a good mystery.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The enigma of a distasteful tale., December 14, 1999
Dennis Potter is for many the most challenging and thought proving dramatist of our generation. Brimstone and Treacle does not quite reach the heady hights of "Pennies from Heaven" or the "Singing Detective" in terms of its dramatic invention but possibly exceeds them in its power to challenge thoughts surrounding conventional morality. Who is the villain in this piece? Is it the Sting character preying pervertedly upon an innocent, or is it the father whose infidelity triggered off the whole chain of events in the first instance. The intervention of the "pervert" releases the heroine from her coma, liberates the mother from a life of drudgery and exposes the father as an adulterer. In reality no harm is done to the girl. Is therefore Sting a Devil or an Angel, does harm sometimes need to be done to create good? The film improves enormously on the TV play with brilliant casting, an evocotive atmosphere and excellent music. Sting was perfectly cast. Watch it and start to think! It is criminal that this video is not available in Britain although it does appear on TV very occasionally.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
WEIRDLY DISTURBING, September 16, 2003
Once banned on the BBC, BRIMSTONE AND TREACLE (MGM) stars Sting as Martin Taylor, a charismatic, mysterious figure who insinuates himself into the household of the Bates. Tom Bates (Denholm Elliot) writes religious literature, his wife Norma (Joan Plowright) spends her time caring for their disabled, mute, daughter. Martin doesn't know the family, but convinces the Bates that he's an old friend of their daughter and moves in to do his thing. Is Martin a demon or an angel? See what happens when the daughter recovers her speech.
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