Watch The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day, directed by James Ivory and based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, is a poignant exploration of love, loyalty, and regret. The film stars Anthony Hopkins as Stevens, a longtime butler at the sprawling Darlington Hall estate in England, and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton, the head housekeeper with whom he shares a complicated and ultimately unfulfilled relationship.

The story takes place in the mid-1950s, as Stevens embarks on a road trip to visit Miss Kenton, whom he hasn't seen since she left Darlington Hall some twenty years earlier. As he travels through the English countryside, he looks back on his life at the estate and the events that led him to where he is now.

Throughout the film, we see Stevens as an almost robotic figure, fiercely dedicated to his duties as a butler and to the man he serves, Lord Darlington (played by James Fox). He prides himself on his professionalism and his ability to maintain the strict hierarchy and protocol of the household, even as social and political tensions begin to mount in the lead-up to World War II.

Meanwhile, Miss Kenton is his opposite in almost every way: warm, emotional, and more willing to challenge the status quo. She and Stevens develop a complicated relationship, at once full of mutual respect and affection, but also characterized by missed opportunities and unspoken feelings.

As the story progresses, we see how the events of the war and Lord Darlington's involvement with the Nazi party begin to take their toll on both Stevens and Miss Kenton. They both become caught up in a world where their duties and loyalties are complicated by politics and morality, and end up making choices that they come to regret.

By the time Stevens reaches Miss Kenton's new home at the end of his journey, there is a palpable sense of melancholy and regret that hangs over the entire film. Hopkins and Thompson give masterful performances, imbuing their characters with a sense of depth and complexity that make them feel very human, despite their very different approaches to life.

The cinematography is also stunning, capturing the beauty of the English countryside and the grandeur of Darlington Hall itself. The film is a meditation on the passing of time, and the way that the choices we make can haunt us long after the fact. It's a heartbreaking yet beautiful story, and one that stays with you long after the credits have rolled.

Overall, The Remains of the Day is a masterpiece of British filmmaking, and a must-see for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of human relationships and the ways in which our choices shape our lives.

The Remains of the Day is a 1993 drama with a runtime of 2 hours and 14 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.8 and a MetaScore of 86.