r-young-306-113564 While I agree with all who have praised this film (and the earlier Distant Voices, Still Lives) in my opinion when Bud enters the coal cellar at the end of the film he goes to his death. Earlier scenes have shown him toying with suicide in just such a manner. The family is close and loving as people have said, but they are also quite insensitive (including the mother) in that they totally fail to recognize what is going on with Bud. He desperately needs male company, and all the women can do is to provide a warm cocoon which smothers rather than comforts. The age gap between Bud and his brothers means that he is not treated seriously even when he pleads to join them on their cycle tour. Some have suggested that there is no plot in this film, I think there is, and it might have been titled Long Days Journey into Night if O'Neill hadn't got there first.

G K The story is about an 11 year old boy who grows up in post-war Liverpool, coping with bullying at school, regularly going to the cinema and taking part in family life.The Long Day Closes is a genuine British masterpiece, a film in love with films and the sense of release and escape they can bring to mundane lives. Director Terence Davies re-creates in painterly detail the daily life of his 11 year old hero, and the specific time, when Britain was moving gradually away from post-war austerity and ration books, and daring to look forward to a more hopeful future. Bud's love affair with Hollywood, and the evocative, romantic pop songs that flood his house, function as more than mere nostalgia; they are formative sights and sounds in a young life. This understated but deeply emotional film captures its era with a melancholy affection. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.

wes-connors Almost any scene of this film, shown in isolation, would suggest it is a masterpiece. But, the entire movie is setting -- a story never really happens. Director Terrance Davies, cinematographer Michael Coulter, and actor Leigh McCormack create very beautiful, sad world for a sensitive boy named Bud. The film is flawless, but don't expect a traditional film plot. "The Long Day Closes" is like watching a piece of art; sometimes the camera lingers over images so long, it's like you're looking at a still picture.Watching the film, in one sitting, I thought the "Tammy" part was a highlight -- it had me guessing about where "Bud" was: church, school… It also moved the setting up to 1957 (I looked up the Debbie Reynolds movie); earlier, I thought the film might take place in the 1940s. Marjorie Yates and the supporting cast were wonderful. The "crucifixion" scene was most startling; it suggests Christianity may have inflicted more harm than good, on this family. Still, nothing really happened to get me interested what was going on, in the story, I am only a child, myself. I will, absolutely watch for the name Terence Davies, and look for his other work; he is a phenomenal filmmaker, obviously. ******* The Long Day Closes (5/22/92) Terence Davies ~ Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson

stevenkossowicz Through the use of music,soundtracks of films,minimal dialogue,imaginative lighting and camerawork,the director Terence Davies recreates the lost world of his childhood in 1950s Liverpool. The film is nostalgic but never sentimental and Davies has the marvelous gift of making the mundane poetic.Quite simply a masterpiece and a film that deserves to be better known. It should be in anybodys 100 best films of all time: it's certainly in mine.