Letter to Brezhnev

25 February 2019

Letter to Brezhnev 1985

• Director: Chris Bernard
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina, Peter Firth
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Alexandra Pigg – Immortal Beloved
• Margi Clarke – 24 Hour Party People
• Alfred Molina – The Tempest, An Education, As You Like It, Coffee and Cigarettes, Frida, Chocolat, Dead Man, Prick Up Your Ears
• Peter Firth – South Riding, Amistad, Tess
• Why? We saw it when it came out and have never forgot it
• Seen: Once before. Now 22 February 2019      

       Liverpool in the 1980’s. Working class girls Theresa (Clarke), who works in a chicken factory, and Elaine (Pigg), unemployed, are skint as always but they just want some fun, a night on the town. Dance. Drink. A Laugh. A man or two. They’re not above a little bottle pinching and pickpocketing.

       They pick up a couple of Soviet sailors, Peter (Firth) and Sergei (Modina). Theresa and Sergei have fun. Elaine and Peter fall in love. Theresa’s quest for fun is filled with despair. She endures her unendurable job gutting chickens just to survive, just for the pittance she’s paid. Elaine doesn’t trust anything, least of all herself, but she takes a chance on Peter. She knows they will never meet again, he insists they will. But the ship leaves, with Peter and Sergei on it.

       It’s a bittersweet, melancholy film, a sweet fairy tale in the 80’s of Thatcher and the Cold War. It’s one of a kind and a gem.

5* of 5