The Remains of the Day (film)

The Remains of the Day
Film poster
Directed by	James Ivory
Produced by	Ismail Merchant Mike Nichols John Calley
Screenplay by	Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Harold Pinter (uncredited)
Based on	The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Emma Thompson James Fox Christopher Reeve Peter Vaughan Hugh Grant Michael Lonsdale Tim Pigott-Smith
Music by	Richard Robbins
Cinematography	Tony Pierce-Roberts
Edited by	Andrew Marcus
Production company	Merchant Ivory Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	5 November 1993 (1993-11-05)
Running time	134 minutes
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$63.9 million

The Remains of the Day is a 1993 British-American drama film adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the 1989 novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols and John Calley. It starred Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton with James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant and Ben Chaplin. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

In 1950s post-war Britain, Stevens, the butler of Darlington Hall, receives a letter from Miss Kenton, a recently divorced former co-worker employed as the housekeeper some twenty years earlier. Lord Darlington has died a broken man, his reputation destroyed after he was exposed as a Nazi sympathizer, and his stately country manor has been sold to a retired United States Congressman, Mr Lewis. Stevens is granted permission to borrow his Daimler, and he sets off to the West Country to meet Kenton.

The film flashes back to Kenton's arrival as housekeeper in the 1930s. The ever efficient Stevens manages the household well, taking great pride in his profession, and his dedication is fully displayed when, while his father lies dying, he steadfastly continues his duties. Kenton also proves to be a valuable servant, and she is equally efficient and strong-willed, but also warmer and less repressed. Relations between the two eventually warm, and it becomes clear that she has feelings for him, yet despite their proximity and shared purpose, Stevens' detachment remains unchanged. Eventually, she forms a relationship with a former co-worker and leaves the house prior to the outbreak of World War II. Before she resigns, Stevens finds her crying in frustration, but the only response he can muster is to call her attention to a neglected domestic task.