Keep the Aspidistra Flying (film)

Keep the Aspidistra Flying (released in the United States, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe as A Merry War) is a 1997 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Bierman and based on the 1936 novel by George Orwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Plater and was produced by Peter Shaw. The film stars Richard E. Grant and Helena Bonham Carter.

Plot

Gordon Comstock (Grant) is a successful copywriter at a flourishing advertising firm in 1930s London. His girlfriend and co-worker, Rosemary (Bonham Carter), fears he may never settle down with her when he suddenly disavows his money-based lifestyle and quits his job for the artistic satisfaction of writing poetry.

Cast

Production

The title Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a pun on the socialist anthem "Keep the Red Flag Flying" but with the aspidistra houseplant instead representing middle-class English respectability.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on reviews from 23 critics.

Derek Elley of Variety magazine called it a terrific adaptation, and a "constant, often very funny delight to the ears". Elley praised the casting but was critical of the uncinematic direction. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "For me it works not only as a reasonable adaptation of an Orwell novel I like, but also as a form of escapism, since if the truth be known I would be happy as a clerk in a London used-book store. For a time." Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade A−.