chinchillaka Review of A Judgment in Stone

A Judgment in Stone (1986)

The Housekeeper aka A Judgement in Stone (1986)

[7/10 · 20 February 2017]

The Housekeeper (1986) is an adaptation of murder/mystery writer, Ruth Rendel's A Judgement in Stone. The film adaptation revolves around a British Housekeeper (Rita Tushingham) who hops the pond to escape her troubled, disadvantaged life to look after a wealthy US family who want to assume the clichéd image of having a British Housekeeper. She desperately hides her illiteracy, ashamed of not being able to read and emphatically fears being belittled by the stark higher class division. She is befriended by another outsider, a religious fanatic and reformed lady of the night to find a kindred spirit and an unlikely friendship forms. The housekeeper's lack of social interaction and illiteracy start to encroach on propriety and the family start to view her as a burden. When her inability to read is discovered, she feels exposed and reacts badly leading to her dismissal. Feeling hard done by and crushed by her worst fears coming true she seeks solace in her friend who offers a unique solution....... This US film is a far cry from the book coming across more like a B movie targeting the teen market rather than the well written story it is. There's not enough mystery for the ending to be shocking, like in the slow reveal of the book. However, as much as it could have been improved, I still enjoyed this film and it's plot turns. Not for everyone but not bad.