The Anniversary [PG]

The mother of three full-grown sons, the one-eyed Mrs. Taggart is an overbearing dominatrix of control who will stop at nothing to keep her three spineless sons under her thumb. Although her despised husband has been dead for years, she still celebrates their wedding anniversary by insisting that the boys come home for the celebration. But this year, her sons come home with something else on their minds: independence from their mother’s clutching and ruthless grasp. Over the course of the evening some shattering home truths are unearthed and as the tension and emotional turbulence continues to mount, it becomes apparent that this will be a most memorable anniversary indeed. 

Oh my goodness, how have I gone my entire life without knowing about this film?! I know that there are people out there who, like me, have a dark and somewhat nasty sense of humour, and to them I say that YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS FILM! It’s a delightfully devilish black comedy that hits where everyone lives: the characters as well as the crowds. I was in fits of sardonic cackles the entire way through: I have never to this day seen a more brilliant black comedy! 

The mother of three full-grown sons, the one-eyed Mrs. Taggart is an overbearing dominatrix of control who will stop at nothing to keep her three spineless sons under her thumb. Although her despised husband has been dead for years, she still celebrates their wedding anniversary by insisting that the boys come home for the celebration. But this year, her sons come home with something else on their minds: independence from their mother’s clutching and ruthless grasp. Over the course of the evening some shattering home truths are unearthed and as the tension and emotional turbulence continues to mount, it becomes apparent that this will be a most memorable anniversary indeed. 

This was a little like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? only with a heroine with a really wicked sense of humour and nowhere near as dramatic. The Anniversary is a black comedy of the highest quality armed with its biting and shoot-through-the-heart script as well as fantastic performances from all its cast. The monologues that Bette Davis have are just delightful and although a lot of drama does come into play, by clever means of writing, it all seems to be funny; of course, only people like me with a twisted sense of humour would really agree. 

Bette Davis stars as the one-eyed Mrs. Taggart and what a diva! She delivers another flawless and divine performance that was eloquent, dripping with disdain and overwhelming affluence… oh she was MARVELLOUS! 

Starring Sheila Hancock, Jack Hedley, James Cossins, Christian Roberts, and Elaine Taylor, The Anniversary is a fantastic black comedy filled with drama, suspense, stunning performances, and brilliantly memorable characters. I LOVED IT TO PIECES!