Review of Blithe Spirit
midlandsmovies • April 25, 2021
Blithe Spirit (2021) Dir. Edward Hall
Based on the play by Noël Coward, new comic farce Blithe Spirit stars Dan Stevens (Beauty & the Beast, The Guest) as Charles Condomine who after a séance is haunted by the ghost of his first wife Elvira.
Charles is a novelist suffering writer’s block and although he can see Elvira (Leslie Mann), everyone else including his new wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) cannot. And this ghostly love-triangle suggests we’re about to get involved in a whole host of crazy incidences and situations. Yet, there are none.
I haven’t seen the Coward play but lord I hope it’s better than this flat, stilted and incredibly bland product. It does “feel” like a stage play but that makes the absent film techniques (blocking, cinematography, editing) stand out all the more and makes the transition to film completely redundant.
We know all three leads can raise plenty of laughs (Stevens in Eurovision Song Contest, and Fisher and Mann in most things they are in) but here the material is consistently unfunny, the sequences turgid and Judi Dench as the clairvoyant are all bland, humourless and misfire on every level.
A tone similar to Clue (1985) or Death Becomes Her (1992) with their knockabout crime and supernatural flavourings would seem to be an appropriate template but this film can only dream of their quirky and satisfying conflicts and nimble script.
The play itself ran for a record 1,997 performances with revivals in 2004, 2011, 2014 AND 2020 but whatever genius audience-friendly hooks you get on stage are missing here, sadly making the film an absolute graceless chore.
★
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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