The L-Shaped Room

Reviews

CinemaSerf
Leslie Caron is really good in this rather quirky tale of a French lass who, pregnant, takes up residence in a pretty grotty London boarding house. Initially wary of the other "guests", "Jane" befriends aspiring writer"Toby" (Tom Bell) and the film depicts her lively relationship with him and her assimilation into this curious group of individuals whom she gradually begins to get used to. There are two things that help this stand out. The photography - it is intimate and very effective; and the use of the Brahms Piano Concerto which is as effective as any of the, frequently potent, dialogue. Caron is in her element here, her performance is confident and engaging. Tom Bell contributes strongly, as do Avis Bunnage and Patricia Phoenix, and there is something quite uplifting about Bryan Forbes' take on this outwardly rather depressing tale of solitude and abandonment. It sags just a bit in the middle with perhaps a more judicious pruning of the character establishment in order at the start, but it does hold the attention well for two hours and deals with adult topics in a remarkably - for the time - frank and plausible fashion.
Movie Recommendation
- Threads1984-09-23Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.More...
- Footlight Parade1933-10-21A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.More...
- Up the Junction1968-01-25A young woman trades her upper-class existence for a new life in an economically depressed suburb of London.More...
- Epic2013-05-15A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world—and ours.More...
- Parasite2019-05-30All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.More...
- 19172019-12-25At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.More...
- The Matrix Resurrections2021-12-16Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.More...
- The Theory of Everything2014-11-07The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde.More...
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife2021-11-18When single mom Callie and her two kids Trevor and Phoebe arrive in a small Oklahoma town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.More...
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie2023-04-05While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario and Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.More...
- Upgrade2018-05-31A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility — skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.More...
- Joker2019-10-01During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.More...
- Avengers: Infinity War2018-04-25As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.More...
- Frozen II2019-11-20Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf head far into the forest to learn the truth about an ancient mystery of their kingdom.More...
- The Green Mile1999-12-10A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.More...
- The Batman2022-03-01In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.More...
- Holidate2020-10-27Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.More...
- La La Land2016-12-01Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.More...
- Suicide Squad2016-08-03From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.More...
- Whiplash2014-10-10Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.More...
Similar Movies
Bridget Jones: The Ed...
2004-11-10Bridget Jones is working as a TV host and still dating her new love, barrister Mark Darcy, for a perfect six weeks. But Bridget is jealous of the time Mark spends with a gorgeous co-worker Rebecca and, despite a vacation meant to smooth things over, ends their relationship. On assignment in Thailand with her disreputable ex, Daniel Cleaver - claiming to be a reformed man - they have a short dalliance, and she is arrested at the airport and temporarily jailed on the false accusation of drug smuggling before Mark, seemingly indifferent, comes to the rescue.Beyond Borders
2003-10-23Sarah Jordan, an American living in London in 1984, is married to the son of a wealthy British industrialist. She encounters Nick Callahan, a renegade doctor, whose impassioned plea for help to support his relief efforts in war-torn Africa moves her deeply. As a result, Sarah embarks upon a journey of discovery that leads to danger, heartbreak and romance in the far corners of the world.The Muppet Christmas ...
1992-12-11A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.Sliding Doors
1998-04-23London publicist Helen, effortlessly slides between parallel storylines that show what happens when she does or does not catch a train back to her apartment. Love. Romantic entanglements. Deception. Trust. Friendship. Comedy. All come into focus as the two stories shift back and forth, overlap and surprisingly converge.The Football Factory
2004-05-13The Football Factory is more than just a study of the English obsession with football violence, it's about men looking for armies to join, wars to fight and places to belong. A forgotten culture of Anglo Saxon males fed up with being told they're not good enough and using their fists as a drug they describe as being more potent than sex and drugs put together.April's Daughters
2017-07-26Valeria is 17 and pregnant. She lives in Puerto Vallarta with Clara, her half sister. Valeria has not wanted her long-absent mother, April, to find out about her pregnancy, but due to the economic strain and the overwhelming responsibility of having a baby in the house, Clara decides to call their mother. April arrives, willing to her daughters, but we soon understand why Valeria had wanted her to stay away.The Postcard Killings...
2020-03-13After suffering a personal tragedy, and desperate for justice, Jacob Kanon, a veteran New York City police detective, embarks on the search for a twisted killer who is leaving a bloody trail of elaborate murders across Europe.The Marzipan Pig
1990-11-05Narrated by Tim Curry and based on the book by Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, a lonely, lost marzipan pig reaches out with love, in a strange chain of events, to an owl, a mouse and a hibiscus flower.9 Songs
2004-07-16Matt, a young glaciologist, soars across the vast, silent, icebound immensities of the South Pole as he recalls his love affair with Lisa. They meet at a mobbed rock concert in a vast music hall - London's Brixton Academy. They are in bed at night's end. Together, over a period of several months, they pursue a mutual sexual passion whose inevitable stages unfold in counterpoint to nine live-concert songs.Talk to Her
2002-03-15Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.Match Point
2005-10-26Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.Boiling Point
2021-07-05A head chef balances multiple personal and professional crises at a popular restaurant in London.Look Who's Talking To...
1990-12-14Mollie and James are together and raising a family, which now consists of an older Mikey and his baby sister, Julie. Tension between the siblings arises, and as well with Mollie and James when Mollie's brother Stuart moves in. Mikey is also learning how to use the toilet for the first time.A Knight's Tale
2001-05-11William Thatcher, a knight's peasant apprentice, gets a chance at glory when the knight dies suddenly mid-tournament. Posing as a knight himself, William won't stop until he's crowned tournament champion—assuming matters of the heart don't get in the way.Look Who's Talking
1989-10-12Mollie is a single working mother who's out to find the perfect father for her child. Her baby, Mikey, prefers James, a cab driver turned babysitter who has what it takes to make them both happy. But Mollie won't even consider James. It's going to take all the tricks a baby can think of to bring them together before it's too late.London Love Story 2
2017-02-26When Caramel laces up her ski boots for a dream trip to Switzerland with Dave, she doesn't expect to plow into a romantic interest from her past.Some Other Stories
2010-07-18The film is a high-concept project with five stories exploring the themes of motherhood and pregnancy, directed by women filmmakers from five former Yugoslav republics. “Croatian Story” follows an anguished painter who must decide whether or not to keep one of her unborn twins, diagnosed with Down syndrome. “Serbian Story” finds an expectant mother in the same emergency room with a charming killer. “Bosnia-Herzegovina Story” centers on a financially strapped Sarajevo family whose son?s lover is pregnant. “Macedonian Story” unfolds in a clinic where a drug addict struggles to keep her baby, and “Slovenian Story” ends the omnibus on a humorous note with a nun who finds her own way to immaculate conception.Lower City
2005-11-04Best friends Deco and Naldinho co-own a cargo boat in Brazil's Salvador da Bahia. They give a ride to a sultry prostitute named Karinna, and soon both men fall prey to her considerable sexual charms, pushing the bounds of their friendship to the limit.Rough Air: Danger on ...
2001-01-01Having taken the blame for an accident beyond his control, pilot Mike Hogan has been on administrative leave indefinitely; however when the airline is desperately short of staff, he is offered to be first officer and accepts, without enthusiasm, received with disdain by the well-connected commander. Surprisingly his come-back proves less then routine, as the captain gets knocked out and a collision as well as a murderer being transported by police require courageous action from Mike, his crew and several passengers, including soccer star Ty Conner.The Last Kiss
2006-09-10Michael has a great job, has his 4 best friends, and is in love with a beautiful girl at 30. He loves Jenna but his life seems predictable until someone else enters his life. It seems that everybody's having relationship problems.