The Long Day Closes (1993)

I'll tell you why so serious

Fresh and Exciting

Excellent but underrated film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I first saw this film back in London, purely by chance during one of my days off work when I dipped out of the rain around Leicester Square. I am glad it rained, for I may have missed this cinematographic masterpiece. The film touches chords deep within the soul and speaks to the nostalgic in us, stirring dormant and long-forgotten memories of childhood. There is very little in the way of plotting, and the dialogue is minimal, but the film contains a rare magic that goes beyond words. The Long Day Closes borders on the exquisite, and I cannot find words to fully describe the impact it made on me. Lacking violence, profanity and abuse, the film is a gem, and it sparkles deep in the mind long after it has been seen. - Peter

It's kind of fascinating to me that so many reviewers consider this a masterpiece. I am not a dullard as far as quality films go, and I will agree that from a technical filming standpoint, as well as for several of the characters portrayed, the film is in an award-worthy class. But there is no sense (for me) of this film actually going anywhere; I mean, taking the viewer anywhere. It is a series of mood scenes, perhaps remarkable as such, but I want more from a film. I look for story and movement and a fulfillment of arrival, none of which did I find in this film. Yes, it might be considered poetry on film . . . but there is much poetry that I cannot live with for the same reason: that it paints pictures without going anywhere.One thing further to be said is that it documents a mid-century English childhood, which is necessarily limited in its universality. I was personally appalled at what a young British boy had to live through, in that time and place. Having grown up in America just a decade earlier, I can authoritatively say that the contrast is immense. I cannot help wondering if this contrast has had some effect on those reviewing the film so favorably. In other words, could there be a tendency to judge the film entirely on its 'filmic magic' (which I acknowledge is there) and completely ignore its lack of relevance to the nature of one's actual recalled experience?

Its been said that everyone has a wonderful book in them, if they only had the skill to bring it out. Terence Davies has made several quality films, but The Long Day Closes is his personal masterpiece. Evocative, nostalgic, the film depicts a childhood lost and sweetly remembered at a time and in a nation struggling to right itself following a devastating war. Davies abandons traditional film-making and works from intuition and powerful memories to create something truly special and magnificent. Certainly not for everyone. If you are moved primarily by American Idol, Wrestlemania and NASCAR pileups, and if your idea of nostalgia is reruns of Happy Days, this movie would be a waste of your time.

"The Long Day Closes" has the kind of emotional impact that the Hollywood bunch could only dream about. There is very little in the way of plot--just a series of memories, as if a family photo album had come to life: like the family at Christmas time. No forced, artificial story lines, like Mama's Dying and We Gotta Pay the Rent--just a perfect rendering of a certain family at a certain time. If you're expecting some sappy tear-jerker, oh boy, do you have the wrong movie. The images here are so powerful, the use of music and old film dialog is so effective. I feel sorry for people who found this movie boring. You obviously didn't get it. Your loss.