It may be regarded as minor Losey but it's
by no means dismissable and is set once again amongst the Upper Crust
and the Hoi Polloi. "The Romantic Englishwoman" of the title is Glenda
Jackson, (superb as always), married to novelist Michael Caine, (not at
his best here). She's bored by the life she is leading which is no life
at all really and he's got writer's block and has turned to writing for
the cinema. It begins in Baden Baden where she's gone 'to find herself'
and where she meets cocaine smuggling gigolo Helmut Berger, (much too
prissy to be a convincing love interest). When she returns to England
Berger follows her, landing on her doorstep where Caine welcomes him
with open arms planning to make him a character in the film he
is writing.It was adapted by Thomas Wiseman and Tom Stoppard from a novel by Wiseman and there is nice streak of dark, and at times very funny, humour running through it though you would be hard pressed to call it a comedy. It wasn't well received when it came out and hasn't been much seen since. Ultimately it's Glenda's film reminding us just how good an actress she could be in a well-written role, here making mincemeat of her co-stars.
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