Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Welcome to the swinging London in the 1960s, this is not a blasé romance comedy about the "it" girl, Meredith (Rampling, barely reaches 20), a modish violinist and party animal, but about her more plain-looking bestie-cum-roommate Georgina, aka. Georgy (Redgrave), the daughter of Ted (Owen) and Doris (Kelly), both work (as the butler and housekeeper) for a rich socialite, the 49- year-old James Leamington (Mason) - this is supposedly to a joke, right? It is impossible for Mr. Mason to pass himself off as that age, he could be well into his 60s judged by his appearance here.Mr. Leamington has tender affection for Georgy, the young and immature daughter of his loyal butler, he has been taking her under his wings through all her life, so on the night of his 49-year- old birthday, he offers a "business" proposal to her and ask her to be his mistress. Just like that, no shame for the gaping age-difference (Georgy is 22 by the way), James is farcical but sincere, he has no pretence, but, no young girl with a scant dosage of self-esteem will say yes immediately to the amoral offer, after a tentative kiss (of course, initiated by James), Georgy starts to dodge him for an answer which she hasn't figured out yet, in such an impressionable age, she even hadn't been kissed before, naturally, her heart is hankering for Jos Jones (Bates), the boyfriend of Meredith, a handsome, but flaky young man.There is an earnest agency of Georgy's predicament, she is a misfit of the trendy milieu and deeply insecure about her modest appeal, she envies the passion between Meredith and Jos, and cannot find her toehold in the quasi ménage-à-trois situation, not until Meredith capriciously decides to keep the baby when she gets pregnant a third time and marries Jos, a radical means to alleviate the boredom of status quo, which only fiercely backfires since she is not a mother material, Rampling is smouldering with vexation and implacably flaunts her fickleness which would later become her trademark in her eclectic body of work - a chic beauty with piercing coldness and seething vehemence.So, when Meredith ditches both her newborn girl and her hubby Jos, it seems that a nuclear family finally comes into being for Georgy, whose maternal nature has been unstoppably awaken ever since Meredith's pregnancy, she takes the baby Sara as her own and harvests Jos' adoration, but, can a puerile Jos take up the duty of being a father? Remember once during their habitual bickering, Meredith and Jos curse each other "bastard" and "whore", which turns out to be quite true. Georgy must learn to accept the reality check, and things will not be too shabby for her, since James' offer is still viable, what's more satisfactory? He is now offering a marriage after the death of his wife.From the skeletal structure, GEORGY GIRL dashes off as an counter-swinging-6os manifestation of a young girl who is inelegantly against the grain, aspiring to settle in a more conventional role of motherhood, which could purposefully serve as a propaganda for the conservatives to dope women back into domestic complacency, but, the film doesn't submit to this myopia, with an uglified Lynn Redgrave carries on her star-making role fervently (she was warranted with her first Oscar nomination), and her Oscar-nominated co-star Mason's mellifluous wooing, in the end of the day, there is a slice of life in the ugly duckling's fairy-tale, she doesn't transform to the swan simply because she is not that kind, and doesn't stays with her knight-in-shining-armour since he is a nutcase, childish and unstable (one might find Bates' acting style a bit laboured and jarring here), she marries more for the convenience than affection, there might not be a happy-ever-after scenario, but that's what she can make the best of her current situation, that's wisdom whoever lives in the real world must learn and we are glad to see her finally latch onto that, like the titular hit theme song sung by THE SEEKERS "life is a reality and you can't always run away", go for it! Georgy Girl!

It is hard to find words to describe to this generation the extent of the condemnation that girls "in trouble" faced 50 years ago.Films like Pagnol's "Fanny" or Demy's "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" poignantly illustrated the difficult choice between romantic love and contracting oneself out to ensure that one's child would not face society's all too real retribution.In that context, Georgy Girl is an extremely bold film that turned the Fanny tale on its head, playfully mocking the absurdity of the situation and cleverly empowering the victim. However, it manages to rise above "message" pieces such as "Guess who's coming to dinner" by carefully treading the line between reality and satire and always respecting the basic humanity of the characters.The spot-on performances of the cast, especially Redgrave make this fun to watch and easy for modern audiences to relate, even after the softening of the attitudes that the film gently mocks.Much like the Seeker's opening theme - very 60's but still catchy and fun...

This kitchen sink, Richard Lester hybrid with it's chart busting tune makes a mighty attempt to masque sad tragic and venal lives with frivolity in swinging London in the 60s.Frumpy, got no expectations Georgy (Lynn Redgrave) is pursued by parents recently widowed employer, James Leamington (James Mason ) to be his mistress. She opts out to make the scene with care free Joe (Alan Bates) and Merideth . When Merideth gives birth to Joe's child she rejects it. Georgy steps in and takes the child to raise along with Joe before returning to Mr Leamington with an ultimatum.The undercurrent of ugliness soon overwhelms the lighter moments of this film centered around four individuals operating at various levels of deceit between each other as well as themselves. They are all desperate in their own way and act accordingly.The four leads do a fine job of annoying with Mason adding to his formidable reputation as a pathetic cad. Bates is a touch too zany and Redgrave a tad too naive but Charlotte Rampling's coldness and contemptuous Merideth is both despicable and riveting.Stripped down Georgy Girl is a grim drama in a callous world as gray as the London sky that it's filmed in but it's smug carefree treatment discounts both the humanity and believability that is conveyed for most of the film's length in an ambiguous and uneven fashion.

Georgy Girl is truly an amazing little film. What makes it stand out? The acting. These people are actors. Every actor training today should watch these people. Every glance, every laugh, every move these actors make is real and true and just perfect in it's delivery. The story itself isn't really all that fascinating or attractive. There are some really odd characters here. One would think that Georgy, who is also odd, would want to run as fast as she can to get away from these people. But Georgy takes an awkward situation and turns it into something great for herself and her new baby.Every person who has ever felt lonely or unappreciated despite how hard they try will probably find something here to identify with and that is one reason why people will love this film.