Kieghley is a small Yorkshire village far from the fumes of the tour bus. Mayor Tony, overjoyed by his town's choice as host for the Year 2000 British Hairdressing Championship, announces this grand coup to a lukewarm response by the small group of townsfolk who bother to show up for his meeting.
Young Brian Allen(Josh Hartnett), however, is very excited. Full of expectations, he approaches his father, Phil Allen(Alan Rickman), proprietor of the local barber shop where Brian works as well. Brian's reminder to his dad that Phil has already twice won this championship is met with a low growl of parental hostility. Phil flatly refuses to discuss it, much less enter.
Blocks away, Shelley Allen(Natasha Richardson), walks the short distance to the local hospital for her doctor's appointment. Here, quite unexpectedly, this "light little film" delivers a heart punch. Watch Richardson's beautiful performance as the doctor reveals the cancer she's been battling is back. As he begins dispassionately discussing her treatment options, she forces him to make it personal by completing his speech with brutally honest cynicism ("Your last two treatments have failed, so its probably trying to tell you summit there..."). He urges her to consider another round of chemotherapy, but they both know she won't go through it again.
Richardson perfectly captures the dignity, and agony, of a bright, intelligent woman who, facing the fact she is dying, decides not to pursue a hopeless situation. Her exchange with Daisy(Rosemary Harris), a terminally ill inpatient at the hospital, is acerbically poignant. You get the sense that she's suspected this for quite some time, and now it's time to prepare to leave this life, and set her affairs in order.
To Shelley, the British Hairdressing Championship seems an ideal way to reconcile many old wrongs. An accomplished hairdresser, she owns the local beauty shop, living upstairs with her partner Sandra. Ten years before, she and husband Phil had competed for their third championship title with Sandra as their model. On the eve of competition, she and Sandra left Phil to enter into their lesbian relationship. Phil never forgave either one of them. Although just blocks from one another, he hasn't spoken to her, or Sandra, for years. Brian remained with his father after the breakup, and Shelley's relationship with him is, at best, awkward and strained.
Now, however, she desperately wants to change all that while there is still time. She wants the old team back together again for one last go. But how? Brian likes the idea but turns her down. He has issues with his mum. Sandra thinks the whole thing is mad, and hates Phil as much as he hates her. Phil wants no part of it whatsoever. His sense of betrayal and deeply abiding hurt are palpable. It seems impossible. Resolute, she enters her salon, A Cut Above, into the competition anyway, to the delight of Mayor Tony, who hypes the entry in an effort to foster local interest.
The contestants arrive with their glittering entourages. These include the infamous Raymond Robertson(Bill Nighy), with his unscrupulous assistant, Louis (Hugh Bonneville), and his daughter Christina(Rachel Leigh Cook), over from America on holiday.
The hotel is full, and Robertson is forced to lodge with a local sheep farmer. David Bradley (Argus Filch of Harry Potter) is terrific as Noah, the dour farmer. He doesn't say much, but shows his sense of humor over his dead relative's hairstyle and sympathy towards Christina for having a git like Ray as her father.
Bill Nighy as Raymond Robertson is excellent. Arrogant, ruthlessly competitive, nothing is as important as victory, including his daughter. Prior to the start of competition, he simply cannot resist the temptation to visit Phil's shop and gloat over the "fall from grace" of his former rival.
The meeting sparks a heated confrontation between Brian, who witnessed the exchange, and his father. Angry at Phil's handling of the situation and his refusal to enter and show Ray up, Brian defies Phil and informs Shelley he will cut for her in the championship. Although pleased, Shelley knows they still really don't stand a chance in the final part, "The Total Look", without Phil. Although his legendary signature event, Phil adamantly wants no part of it.
That's enough synopsis to be going on with, I think. Watch especially the subplots. Mayor Tony's hilarious transformation from pompous small town official into glittering event presenter. The rally of the townsfolk behind their local team. Brian's funeral fiasco. Christina's Technicolor sheep. The amazing Daisy in "Evening Hair". Sandra and Phil in a bathtub on a hill.
Rachel Griffiths performance as Shelley's lesbian lover Sandra is rich with detailed emotion. Her unresolved conflict with Phil, her insecurity at being "only the f*cking girlfriend", her reaction to the awful reality that the person she loves beyond reason is truly dying. And, gloriously, her radiant "Total Look", which has to be seen to be appreciated.
Well. A little more in depth than I had planned, but that's the overall feeling you get from Blow Dry. More than expected. More than planned. It works on so many levels. The lighthearted silliness of the British Hairdressing Competition, of all things. The reunion of two childhood friends, Brian and Christina, who rediscover each other as attractive adults of the opposite sex. The study of a man who must come to terms with the lesbian lifestyle of his wife, whom, deep inside, he still loves. And the moving portrait, throughout it all, of a dying woman's last attempt to recapture former glory and engineer the reconciliation of all those whom she most loves.
Buy this film. Treasure it. And, when somebody asks you how you felt after you've watched it, you can honestly turn to them and say: "Never better, love, never better".
Young Brian Allen(Josh Hartnett), however, is very excited. Full of expectations, he approaches his father, Phil Allen(Alan Rickman), proprietor of the local barber shop where Brian works as well. Brian's reminder to his dad that Phil has already twice won this championship is met with a low growl of parental hostility. Phil flatly refuses to discuss it, much less enter.
Blocks away, Shelley Allen(Natasha Richardson), walks the short distance to the local hospital for her doctor's appointment. Here, quite unexpectedly, this "light little film" delivers a heart punch. Watch Richardson's beautiful performance as the doctor reveals the cancer she's been battling is back. As he begins dispassionately discussing her treatment options, she forces him to make it personal by completing his speech with brutally honest cynicism ("Your last two treatments have failed, so its probably trying to tell you summit there..."). He urges her to consider another round of chemotherapy, but they both know she won't go through it again.
Richardson perfectly captures the dignity, and agony, of a bright, intelligent woman who, facing the fact she is dying, decides not to pursue a hopeless situation. Her exchange with Daisy(Rosemary Harris), a terminally ill inpatient at the hospital, is acerbically poignant. You get the sense that she's suspected this for quite some time, and now it's time to prepare to leave this life, and set her affairs in order.
To Shelley, the British Hairdressing Championship seems an ideal way to reconcile many old wrongs. An accomplished hairdresser, she owns the local beauty shop, living upstairs with her partner Sandra. Ten years before, she and husband Phil had competed for their third championship title with Sandra as their model. On the eve of competition, she and Sandra left Phil to enter into their lesbian relationship. Phil never forgave either one of them. Although just blocks from one another, he hasn't spoken to her, or Sandra, for years. Brian remained with his father after the breakup, and Shelley's relationship with him is, at best, awkward and strained.
Now, however, she desperately wants to change all that while there is still time. She wants the old team back together again for one last go. But how? Brian likes the idea but turns her down. He has issues with his mum. Sandra thinks the whole thing is mad, and hates Phil as much as he hates her. Phil wants no part of it whatsoever. His sense of betrayal and deeply abiding hurt are palpable. It seems impossible. Resolute, she enters her salon, A Cut Above, into the competition anyway, to the delight of Mayor Tony, who hypes the entry in an effort to foster local interest.
The contestants arrive with their glittering entourages. These include the infamous Raymond Robertson(Bill Nighy), with his unscrupulous assistant, Louis (Hugh Bonneville), and his daughter Christina(Rachel Leigh Cook), over from America on holiday.
The hotel is full, and Robertson is forced to lodge with a local sheep farmer. David Bradley (Argus Filch of Harry Potter) is terrific as Noah, the dour farmer. He doesn't say much, but shows his sense of humor over his dead relative's hairstyle and sympathy towards Christina for having a git like Ray as her father.
Bill Nighy as Raymond Robertson is excellent. Arrogant, ruthlessly competitive, nothing is as important as victory, including his daughter. Prior to the start of competition, he simply cannot resist the temptation to visit Phil's shop and gloat over the "fall from grace" of his former rival.
The meeting sparks a heated confrontation between Brian, who witnessed the exchange, and his father. Angry at Phil's handling of the situation and his refusal to enter and show Ray up, Brian defies Phil and informs Shelley he will cut for her in the championship. Although pleased, Shelley knows they still really don't stand a chance in the final part, "The Total Look", without Phil. Although his legendary signature event, Phil adamantly wants no part of it.
That's enough synopsis to be going on with, I think. Watch especially the subplots. Mayor Tony's hilarious transformation from pompous small town official into glittering event presenter. The rally of the townsfolk behind their local team. Brian's funeral fiasco. Christina's Technicolor sheep. The amazing Daisy in "Evening Hair". Sandra and Phil in a bathtub on a hill.
Rachel Griffiths performance as Shelley's lesbian lover Sandra is rich with detailed emotion. Her unresolved conflict with Phil, her insecurity at being "only the f*cking girlfriend", her reaction to the awful reality that the person she loves beyond reason is truly dying. And, gloriously, her radiant "Total Look", which has to be seen to be appreciated.
Well. A little more in depth than I had planned, but that's the overall feeling you get from Blow Dry. More than expected. More than planned. It works on so many levels. The lighthearted silliness of the British Hairdressing Competition, of all things. The reunion of two childhood friends, Brian and Christina, who rediscover each other as attractive adults of the opposite sex. The study of a man who must come to terms with the lesbian lifestyle of his wife, whom, deep inside, he still loves. And the moving portrait, throughout it all, of a dying woman's last attempt to recapture former glory and engineer the reconciliation of all those whom she most loves.
Buy this film. Treasure it. And, when somebody asks you how you felt after you've watched it, you can honestly turn to them and say: "Never better, love, never better".