Brief film review: The Holly and the Ivy

Brief film review: The Holly and the Ivy

Over the years, the Reverend Julianna, my wife, and yours truly, have enjoyed watching a host of classic films on the Turner Classic Movies channel. We appreciate being able to watch movies without far too many commercial breaks on other channels. 

Recently we watched “The Holly and the Ivy,” a 1952 black & white British film, 80 minutes long. It was  directed by George More O'Ferrall, produced by Anatole de Gunwald, and is based on the 1950 play of the same name by Wynyard Browne. 

The story mainly takes place on Christmas Eve, and Gregory family members are arriving at the parsonage in the remote village of Wyndenham in rural Norfolk. Ralph Richardson is the parson, the Reverend Martin Gregory, who is a widower. Celia Johnson is Jenny Gregory, the parson’s daughter who is in love with a Scottish engineer, David Paterson, and wants to marry him, but believes she cannot because she feels duty-bound to look after her dad. David feels a great deal of urgency to marry Jenny, and take her with him, as he is about to leave for a five year job in South America.

The Reverend Gregory’s two other children also arrived home for Christmas—daughter Margaret, and son Michael. Both of them are in a rather strained relationship with their dad. They feel that because their dad is a parson, they could not share certain details of their lives with him, for fear that he would judge and reject them. 

Eventually there is a confrontation between the Reverend Gregory and son Michael, in which the latter is honest with his dad. A heart-to-heart conversation between daughter Margaret and her dad reveals how much she has suffered because of the death of the man she loved, and the death of her four-year-old son, who died of meningitis. 

The Reverend Gregory, instead of rejecting and judging his children, surprises them by showing them empathy, and sharing his own regrets about the past, as well as his struggles as a parson. 

It is a heart-warming story, and underscores the importance of reconciliation, communication, and compassionate family relationships. I also appreciated how the film addresses the continuing stereotypical, prejudicial, and false view (even today) of many towards clergypersons—that they are too ‘holy,’ self-righteous and judgemental of others, living sheltered lives, and therefore to be avoided because they lack empathy towards, and understanding of people living in “the real world.” 

A Brief Movie Review: Unfinished Song

We recently watched the 2012 film, Unfinished Song, written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams, starring

Terence Stamp as Arthur and Vanessa Redgrave as Marion.

   Marion is dying of cancer and wants to live life to the fullest by singing in a senior’s community choir. Her husband, Arthur, comes across as a curmudgeon, not at all supportive of Marion’s passion for music.

   However, after Marion dies, Arthur, to honour Marion and process his grief, joins the choir.

   Arthur and his son James are alienated from one another. Eventually, through Arthur’s involvement with the choir, they are reconciled.

   One of the brilliant, thought-provoking lines in the movie, spoken by Marion is: “What makes a song beautiful is not always the quality of the voice but the distance that voice has had to travel.”

   I appreciated this film because it is, simultaneously: a love story, a spiritually edifying tale of marital and family dynamics and relationships, confession, forgiveness and reconciliation, a realistic portrayal of death and grief, the joy and healing potential of music, and the significant contribution that seniors make to society. This film should be of interest to seniors and those who care for them.