Brimstone & Treacle

(UK)

PFH/Namara. Director Richard Loncraine; Producer Kenith Trodd; Screenplay Dennis Potter; Camera Peter Hannan; Editor Paul Green; Music Sting; Art Director Milly Burns

Sting
Denholm Elliott
Joan Plowright
Suzanna Hamilton
Benjamin Whitrow
Dudley Sutton

Strong on ambiance and suggested terror, Brimstone & Treacle is a handsomely mounted gothic tale. Sting, rock singer from The Police, makes a strong impression in his first major film role.

Playing a young drifter, Martin Taylor, Sting has a running con game where he bumps into passersby and pretends to know them. His pigeon is Thomas Bates (Denholm Elliott), the owner of a company that prints inspirational cards. Sting pretends to be a friend of Elliott's crippled daughter (Suzanna Hamilton).

Elliott remains cynical but his wife (Joan Plowright) only sees his kindness and insists he stay with them overnight. Soon, he's wormed his way into the troubled household. He frees Plowright of her domestic chores, including the care of spastic daughter Hamilton. He molests Hamilton, who can only utter grunts and whines, and has his eyes on money and jewels in the house.

Director Richard Loncraine heightens the terror by closing in the action and using shadow to further darken the mood and obscure character intent. The script presents a devastating view of the middle-class English family. The performances, all excellent, are played slightly off-centre so one never knows whether the action will darken or veer into comedy.

(Color) Available on VHS. Extract of a review from 1982. Running time: 87 MIN.

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