Yes

written and directed by Sally Potter

starring Joan Allen, Simon Akbarian, Sam Neill & Shirley Henderson

With the opening line “they say I am the best cleaner they have ever had” we get a inside glimpse into the lives of “She” and Anthony as seen by the cleaner (Shirley Henderson). Clever remarks about how “clean is never really clean, there is always some evidence” shape the film’s context.

She (Joan Allen) is unhappily married to Anthony (Sam Neill). In not so many words we find out he has been cheating on her and, forced to be civilised at a dinner party, She meets He (Simon Akbarian). They flirt, they date, they start a passionate relationship. He makes her feel like a princess, the most beautiful woman in the world.

He, a cook, soon finds himself compromised and out of place as a muslim immigrant and, after an incident in his kitchen, leaves. She, a scientist is devastated and confused, they meet, they talk. After some heartbreaking news She decides to go on holiday to Cuba and gives He a ticket, unsure as to whether or not He will come.

I’m sorry I can’t sound any more exciting about this film! My verdict of ‘Yes’ is probably a ‘No’!! The storyline is average but the most annoying thing is that they all speak poetry, all the time. I don’t know if I’m meant to be thinking that that’s romantic and wonderfully girly but it got on my nerves after while.

My conscience also ‘got in the way’. I couldn’t stop hoping that eventually He would go and She would go home. There was a phone call at one point, She was talking about sorting things out and going on holiday, I was hoping She might have been talking to him, the right one; Anthony.

I was bored before the half way point. I feel bad because Joan Allen acted really well, I thought. I also like Shirley Henderson as an actress and she played her part well too. If you’re into poetry and appreciate a Shakespeare approach to a film, you’ll like this film. If not, you won’t!