The Remains of the Day is a 1993 drama film based on the Booker Prize-winning 1989 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. The film was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, Mike Nichols, and John Calley. It was adapted for the screen by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The movie features Anthony Hopkins as James Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton, with James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant, Ben Chaplin, and Lena Headey in supporting roles.

The film was successful with critics and audiences and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Emma Thompson), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala). In 1999, the British Film Institute listed The Remains of the Day as the 64th-greatest British film of the 20th century.

Plot

In 1958, after World War II, Stevens, the butler at Darlington Hall, receives a letter from Miss Kenton, now Mrs. Benn. Their former employer, the Earl of Darlington, has died, and his reputation was ruined because he supported Nazi Germany before the war. His large country house has been sold to a retired American congressman named Jack Lewis. Stevens is allowed to use the Daimler car to travel to the West Country to meet Miss Kenton for the first time in many years.

In the 1930s, Miss Kenton arrives at Darlington Hall. Stevens, who is very organized but hides his emotions, finds his identity tied to his work as a butler. He has disagreements with Miss Kenton, who is warm and strong-willed, especially when he refuses to accept that his father, now an under-butler, can no longer do his job.

During a meeting where the Earl of Darlington discusses ideas with other European aristocrats who support fascist views, Stevens continues his duties even as his father dies. At the meeting, an American congressman named Lewis warns the group that Europe is now a place of practical politics and predicts serious problems ahead.

After learning about Nazi laws that harm Jewish people, the Earl of Darlington tells Stevens to fire two German-Jewish refugee maids. Miss Kenton threatens to quit but has no other place to go. Later, the Earl is unable to bring the maids back to work. At another meeting, Stevens cannot answer a guest’s questions about trade and politics, which the guest claims shows the lower classes’ lack of knowledge.

Over time, Stevens and Miss Kenton become less distant. She shows her feelings for him, but Stevens remains focused only on his role as a butler. She finds him reading a romance novel, which he says is to improve his vocabulary. He tells her not to intrude on his privacy again.

Lord Darlington’s godson, a journalist named Reginald Cardinal, arrives on the day of a secret meeting between the British Prime Minister and a German ambassador. Cardinal tells Stevens that his godfather is being used by the Nazis, but Stevens believes it is not his place to judge his employer.

Miss Kenton later marries a former coworker named Tom Benn. She tells Stevens this as a final decision, but he does not admit his feelings and only offers his congratulations. When he finds her crying, he tells her about a task she neglected, and she leaves Darlington Hall before the war begins.

While traveling to meet Miss Kenton in 1958, Stevens is mistaken for a gentleman at a pub. A local doctor helps him fix his car and guesses he is a servant. The doctor asks Stevens about Lord Darlington’s actions. At first, Stevens denies knowing the Earl, but later admits he served and respected him. He says the Earl later realized his support of Nazi ideas was wrong.

Stevens meets Miss Kenton, who is now separated from her husband and lives in a boarding house. They talk about how the Earl died from a broken heart after losing a legal battle and his reputation. Stevens mentions that Cardinal was killed during the war. Miss Kenton says she will not return to Darlington Hall, as she wants to stay near her pregnant daughter and may return to her husband. Stevens thinks they may never see each other again, and they part with quiet sadness.

Stevens returns to Darlington Hall, where Lewis asks if he remembers what he said during a meeting in the 1930s. Stevens says he was too busy working to listen. A pigeon flies into the fireplace, and Lewis catches it and lets it go. Stevens watches the bird fly away, leaving Darlington Hall behind.

Production

A film version of the novel was first planned by Columbia Pictures to be directed by Mike Nichols, based on a script by Harold Pinter, with a budget of $26 million. Meryl Streep’s agent at the time, Sam Cohn, and the director convinced her to take the important role of Miss Kenton. Both Streep and Jeremy Irons auditioned for Nichols, but the director chose not to cast them. Instead, Emma Thompson (who was ten years younger than Meryl) and Anthony Hopkins (who was twenty years older than Emma) were cast in those roles. Cohn, who also represented Nichols, did not tell Meryl that she was no longer being considered for Miss Kenton. She later found out about Thompson’s casting after reading about it in the news. Soon after, Streep made headlines by ending her long-term relationship with her East Coast agent and signing with Bryan Lourd at the Creative Artists Agency. James Ivory became interested in the book and, with his producing partner Ismail Merchant, planned to make the film for $11.5 million. Some parts of Pinter’s script were used in the film, but Pinter requested his name not be listed in the credits, as agreed in his contract. Christopher C. Hudgins noted in an interview with Pinter in 1994 that Pinter had learned from past experiences, such as when his script for The Handmaid’s Tale was heavily revised. After similar changes to his script for The Remains of the Day, Pinter refused to have his name credited. Though no longer the director, Nichols remained involved as a producer.

The film’s music was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin.

Several English country estates were used as filming locations, partly because Ismail Merchant successfully persuaded owners to allow the production to use private homes. These included Dyrham Park for the house exterior and driveway, Powderham Castle for the staircase, hall, music room, and bedroom (used in scenes with aqua-turquoise stairs), Corsham Court for the library and dining room, and Badminton House for the servants’ quarters, conservatory, and entrance hall. Luciana Arrighi, the production designer, helped find most of these locations. Scenes were also filmed in Weston-super-Mare, which stood in for Clevedon. The pub where Mr. Stevens stays is the Hop Pole in Limpley Stoke, and the shop shown is also in Limpley Stoke. The pub where Miss Kenton and Mr. Benn meet is The George Inn in Norton St. Philip.

The character of Sir Geoffrey Wren is loosely based on Sir Oswald Mosley, a British fascist from the 1930s. Wren is shown as a strict vegetarian, like Hitler. The 3rd Viscount Halifax (later the 1st Earl of Halifax) also appears in the film. Lord Darlington mentions that Halifax approved of the polish on the silver, and Halifax later appears when Darlington secretly meets the German Ambassador and his aides. Halifax was a key figure in Britain’s appeasement policy from 1937 to 1939. Interestingly, Halifax was born at Powderham Castle (mentioned earlier). The character of Congressman Jack Lewis in the film combines two characters from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel: Senator Lewis (who attends a pre-World War II conference at Darlington Hall) and Mr. Farraday, who later becomes master of Darlington Hall.

Release

The film's first showing was on October 25, 1993, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. It was the main movie shown on the opening night of the London Film Festival on November 4, 1993, and began showing in 94 theaters across the United States on November 5.

Reception

The film earned $23 million in the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom, it earned £4.5 million. Worldwide, the film earned a total of $63.9 million.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 96% rating based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. The consensus says: "Smart, elegant, and with excellent performances from Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, The Remains of the Day is a Merchant–Ivory classic." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 based on 12 reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on a scale from A+ to F.

Roger Ebert especially praised the film, calling it "a subtle, thoughtful movie." In a positive review for The Washington Post, Desson Howe wrote, "Put Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, and James Fox together and you can expect excellent performances." Vincent Canby of The New York Times said, in another positive review, "Here's a film for adults. It's also time to recognize that Mr. Ivory is one of our finest directors, something that critics often overlook because most of his films have been literary adaptations."

The film was named one of the best films of 1993 by more than 50 critics, making it the fifth-most-acclaimed film of that year.

• The film is ranked #64 on the British Film Institute’s "Top 100 British films" list.
• The film was also nominated for the American Film Institute’s "100 Years…100 Passions" list.

Soundtrack

The original score was written by Richard Robbins. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score, but did not win, as it lost to the score from Schindler's List.

• Opening Titles, Darlington Hall – 7 minutes and 27 seconds
• The Keyhole and the Chinaman – 4 minutes and 14 seconds
• Tradition and Order – 1 minute and 51 seconds
• The Conference Begins – 1 minute and 33 seconds
• Sei Mir Gegrüsst (Schubert) – 4 minutes and 13 seconds
• The Cooks in the Kitchen – 1 minute and 34 seconds
• Sir Geoffrey Wren and Stevens Sr. – 2 minutes and 41 seconds
• You Mean a Great Deal to This House – 2 minutes and 21 seconds
• Loss and Separation – 6 minutes and 19 seconds
• Blue Moon – 4 minutes and 57 seconds
• Sentimental Love Story/Appeasement/In the Rain – 5 minutes and 22 seconds
• A Portrait Returns/Darlington Hall/End Credits – 6 minutes and 54 seconds