The Party

Director: Sally Potter
Year Released: 2017
Rating: 1.0

Husband and wife Bill (Timothy Spall) and Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) throw a party for a few friends (including Bruno Ganz, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Cherry Jones) to celebrate Janet's promotion as Minister of Health, except Bill's going through a crisis and needs to announce two things: (1.) he has health problems and (2.) he's leaving his wife for another woman, Marianne (who is married to Cillian Murphy). Shot, for whatever reason, in black and white, it's another case of the bourgeoisie-behaving-badly and clumsily assembled: there's a plenitude of overacting and silliness, and the ending is either clever or cheap, depending on your perspective (the unseen bi-amorous Marianne sure does get around). Potter keeps it at a very trim 71 minutes, which is about as long these people can be tolerated.