Really Surprised!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Sir Anthony Hopkins brings dignity and poignancy to a role that most actors of his ilk may shun for fear of either being typecast or remembered poorly. James is a man who let himself be defined by his profession in a day and age where servants were noble and noblemen were fools.

How difficult it must be to live inside the skin of a man like butler James Stephens (Anthony Hopkins), unable or unwilling to express his emotions or even his thoughts on subjects of major import. After a while, one becomes infuriated with his maddeningly proper and reserved behavior, which allows him to carry on with his duties while his own father lies dying in an upstairs bedroom. This he justifies by stating "My father would wish me to carry on with my work." Maybe so, but show some heart, man. For whatever reason, this was virtually impossible for Stevens in all matters of politics, business, and most of all, love. When it becomes apparent that his feelings for Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) will remain unexpressed, even in the face of an impending marriage while she herself harbors feelings of her own for Stevens, the story becomes one of tense frustration. On top of that is Stevens' equivocation on matters of the Nazis coming to power and his Master Darlington's (James Fox) efforts at appeasement that ultimately lead to disgrace. As dry and soulless as all this sounds, the movie itself is a masterful character study of people imprisoned by their own status in life and how ineffectual they are in achieving self fulfillment. Hopkins and Thompson are remarkable in their portrayals, and the film's ending with Miss Kenton lamenting a life that never came to pass is heartbreaking in it's intensity. Christopher Reeve also acquits himself well as the American Congressman who fails to convince his European hosts that Hitler's designs will prove frightful for all. I'm not much for fictional period pieces, but "The Remains of the Day" is a finely scripted story that's wonderfully filmed. Fans of love and romance however should prepare for disappointment.

Superb acting by Anthony Hopkins so believable as a butler.

As I turned the lights up in our TV room, my wife and I looked at each other and both said, "What was THAT??" In this case "that" was "The Remains of the Day," a story about a butler who has the range of emotions of Chance the Gardener in "Being There," and the personality of drying paint.Playing this role was a tough assignment, but give credit to Anthony Hopkins for pulling it off. Without his performance, this movie would be a complete stinker. With it, the movie is watchable, but still unsatisfying. The main problem is that the movie doesn't go anywhere. You know, the old "writing 101" business about beginning, middle, and end, and the concept that there ought to be a climax or resolution or something that pulls things together as you get to the final scenes.Instead, at the end you just scratch your head and wonder why you just spent 2+ hours watching this thing.If someone recommends this movie to you because your wife likes "Downton Abbey" (which is how we came to rent it), do yourself a favor and instead rent the very similar, and infinitely better film, "The Grand Budapest Hotel." It too has a "majordomo" at its center (a concierge at a hotel instead of a butler in a private residence), but the characters in that film are infinitely more interesting and compelling. That film is also told in flashbacks, but to much better effect. But the key difference is that the resolutions at the end are satisfying in all respects.What makes it so much better? One word: writing. It is simply much, much better-written.So, "The Remains of the Day" is way over-rated (nominated for a "best picture" Oscar which it most definitely did not deserve) and, except for Hopkins' performance, deserves no other accolades.