This British production, directed by the American Joseph Losey, who had fled to England as a result of blacklisting, is one of the great art films of the 1960s. A wealthy young man (James Fox) living in London hires a manservant (Dirk Bogarde) who turns the tables on his employer and gains the upper hand as his former master progressively loses his identity and heads into total disintegration. The film uses this scenario to brilliantly explore a whole range of themes including class rivalry and the struggle for power as well as questions of alienation and sexuality without ever reducing the dramatic conflict between the two main characters to any one of these. Based on a minor novel by Robin Maugham, The Servant was adapted for the screen by Harold Pinter, whose script is one of the high points in the history of screenwriting.
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The review of this Movie prepared by Dave C
