[email protected] A sweetly claustrophobic tale of the tempestuous and almost incestuous whirl that lies beneath the genteel and respectable surface of civilised Society in the South west of England. Harnessing Peacocks is great fun, and is a well acted, well presented, rather saucy drawing room comedy, that also manages to expose the hypocrisy of 'the right sort of people'. Vivacious, and fun, and with just a small dollop of romance.There is some nudity, and a considerable amount of foul language, which give ample justification for the fifteen certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.

cuzjackincanuckland I saw this British TV movie in 1995 on A&E, and taped it the very next time was shown by A&E, with all the commercials left in so that when taping late at night I would not miss anything from having to restart the recording and possibly missing a cue. I watch my tape of it quite frequently, more than once a year since 1995. I soon found and bought a second-hand paperback copy of the novel (by Mary Wesley, an Englishwoman who started writing novels when she was 70 and her second husband's death had left her poor; she died at 90). I enjoy rereading the book.The story is lively, about differences between snobbish ambitious confident public-school (private school to North Americans) upper-class types and the others, and shows many of the "nobs" as rude and inconsiderate in their behaviour to family members and friends. It follows a beautiful girl from a rich, land-owning, big-house country family; she opts out and disappears, keeps her whereabouts a secret from them, and supports her life by supplying very expensive services to selected rich mostly-upper-class people well able to afford them. When it suddenly all falls apart, luck helps her start putting her life together again in a different and more conventional way, and while she is a little reluctant to to give up some very enjoyable aspects of her life until the crisis, she accepts that she cannot go on as she was, and decides to make a go of the third phase of her life. The filming is in big houses, in country districts, on country roads (some purporting to be the main road between Exeter and Cornwall), in places purporting to be in the Cornish town of Penzance, in the Scilly Isles, on a sailing yacht, in Exeter and Salisbury. The people look the parts they are playing, acting is quite good but not great, the dialogue is lively and amusing, and there are clear distinctions made between loving, liking, being in love, making love, and having sex, however enjoyable the last may be even without love. The story is hard-headed, realistic in its attitudes, and unsentimental. The lively conversation is liberated, but any lively action is mostly off-screen, and there is no violence.

lacock88 There's something about this film that makes it standout from the hordes. It has a top class cast, it's romantic, funny and whimsical. Once seen, never forgotten ! It is not a commercial film as such, meaning that if a viewer is looking for bad language, blood, guts and rampant or graphic sex then it is definitely not for them. If a viewer is looking for gentle attributes, beautiful photography, romance, intrigue and lots of stylishly discreet sex, then it is for he/she. It was shown on late night TV in Australia a few years ago as a special treat by John Hinds, the local film buff and expert/critic on the ABC who recommended it highly. I bought it on the internet and have never seen it in video shops or anywhere else for that matter. I am hanging on to my copy for grim death ! It's like a favorite book that one takes down every year or so and re-reads with the greatest of pleasure. I thoroughly recommend it to a discerning viewer.

vsanborn This is an entertaining movie, though not the best filmed. The plot moves along quite nicely and the heroine, Hebe, is spirited and likable. The way she makes "ends meet" by working as a cook and choosing to be a mistress to a select group of men, lends itself to unique plot twists and comic moments. Her back story--that of being rejected by her family due to an unwanted pregnancy and her inability to identify the father--is sad and implausible, but this doesn't keep our heroine down or the story from being interesting.If you are a romantic, this movie won't waste your time. Serena Scott Thomas is lovely in the role; and her gentlemen suitors are a fine and merry bunch.