Too much of everything

Some things I liked some I did not.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Hebe brings disgrace on her stuffy middle class family, by falling pregnant out of wedlock, she decides to up and leave her family to bring up her son. She sends him to public school, funding it by cooking for wealthy old ladies and high class exclusive prostitution. Hebe is unsure who the father is, she met him intoxicated during festivities in Italy, and all she can remember is a strong, overpowering smell of coffee.This is a really enjoyable drama, that challenges your preconceived ideas about things. Turning the idea of prostitution on its head, Hebe being the one overwhelmingly in control. You could be forgiven for reading the plot and expecting a deeper, more sordid drama.It's funny, easy viewing, with some rather lovely performances, Serena Scott Thomas is quite enchanting, underplaying her role to perfection. John Mills, Peter Davison, Brenda Bruce all lovely, each adding something completely different. With a cast like this it was never going to fail.Enjoyable, 7/10

A sweetly claustrophobic tale of the tempestuous and almost incestuous whirl that lies beneath the genteel and respectable surface of civilised Society in the South west of England. Harnessing Peacocks is great fun, and is a well acted, well presented, rather saucy drawing room comedy, that also manages to expose the hypocrisy of 'the right sort of people'. Vivacious, and fun, and with just a small dollop of romance.There is some nudity, and a considerable amount of foul language, which give ample justification for the fifteen certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.

This is an entertaining movie, though not the best filmed. The plot moves along quite nicely and the heroine, Hebe, is spirited and likable. The way she makes "ends meet" by working as a cook and choosing to be a mistress to a select group of men, lends itself to unique plot twists and comic moments. Her back story--that of being rejected by her family due to an unwanted pregnancy and her inability to identify the father--is sad and implausible, but this doesn't keep our heroine down or the story from being interesting.If you are a romantic, this movie won't waste your time. Serena Scott Thomas is lovely in the role; and her gentlemen suitors are a fine and merry bunch.

I vaguely remember watching "Harnessing Peacocks" many years ago on North American television late at night while channel surfing, and ended up sitting through the entire movie by virtue of the compelling and winsome portrayal of the protagonist, Hebe, a single mom, disowned from a reputable family, whose charm and beauty provides for herself and her son. Although the movie surrounds Hebe with English reticence and middle-class respectability, Serena Scott Thomas's easy and affecting performance makes perfectly plausible the character's circumstances and the later plot developments concerning old friends and lovers. I actually do not recall much of the story, but I do remember with fondness Serena Scott Thomas's luminous Hebe.In reference to jaykay3's desire for a DVD of "Harnessing Peacocks", there is one available in the UK; Amazon.co.uk currently sells it as of the writing of this review. It is a region 2 disk using the PAL video standard, so it will not play in a region 1 (USA) player on an NTSC TV. You can, however, get a region free DVD player that also has a built-in PAL/NTSC converter.