The Girl in the Café (2005 TV Movie)
7/10
Very, very good
10 January 2006
Two films in one Jekyll and Hyde package. A marvellous performance by Bill Nighy well supported, or rather, accompanied by Kelly Macdonald. The rest of the cast seemed just right with their supporting 'pattern' characters.

The dialogue of the romance must have seemed odd to read but is made utterly believable by the main players. Great writing.

The bad part is the moral message. Clumsy, lumpen, mawkish. If it were possible to put on film the sentiment behind the 'humanity' interest as well as was done with the love interest then it would have really been something. It was a sledgehammer trying to move a continent - with about as much of a lasting effect on those who were actually taken in by it in the first place.

Switching from a beautiful and believable story of two lonely people to Sesame Street mentality scenes at a G8 conference doesn't spoil it completely, it's well worth seeing. You just know when to zone out to avoid the PC bits second time round.

Marvellous but flawed and not marvellously flawed, which is a pity.

Well worth several viewings.
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