Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

starbase202 I really enjoyed this movie. It reminded me of the ups and downs of love throughout our lives and especially during the endings. And how brave of Ms. Bening to act with little or no makeup.

lavatch In the bonus segment of the DVD of "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool," there is an extended interview with the actors, the director, and Peter Turner, the author of the memoir on which the film is based. At one point in the interview, it is revealed that 98% of the film is true, based on Turner's recollections of his romantic relationship as a young man with the much older actress Gloria Grahame. Clearly, the film was intended as a biographical portrait of the actress best remembered for "The Bad and the Beautiful" and "A Lonely Place." Unfortunately, the film fell flat in developing what was intended as a combination biography, romance, and depiction of a tender relationship of the aging film star and with a young actor from Liverpool. Much of the film sounded "scripted" with references to films and plays. The one allusion that worked effectively was when Gloria in her late '50s mentioned to Peter that she wanted to audition for Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Peter corrected her by saying, "Shouldn't you be auditioning for the Nurse?" Of course, that response led to one of their torrid arguments. It also resulted in one of the best emotional moments in the film when the Peter and Gloria read the scene of the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet.The film also was not served by a structure that skipped around extensively in time. Instead of developing the relationship of Gloria and Peter in a linear way, the audience was jolted in and out of the past. It was especially confusing as the drama was toggling between Liverpool, New York, and Los Angeles. This is really not the way to write a screenplay of a biographical romance.In the bonus segment of the DVD, actress Annette Bening described the life of Gloria Graham as "tempestuous." Bening's interpretation was mostly a one-dimensional version of "tempestuous." The film was also manipulative of audiences in presenting a crucial scene about the "break-up" of Gloria and Peter in New York. The audience had to endure two rendition of the exact scene with the exact dialogue, before the truth is revealed about Gloria's visit to her physician. The authors of the script do not receive a passing grade in Screenwriting 101. In the final analysis, the film seemed exploitative in its depiction of a deeply personal relationship that often came across as unflattering. In the extended interview with the performers and the director, it was never once mentioned what Gloria Graham might have felt about this cinematic portrayal of her life. In all likelihood, Graham would have preferred to have been remembered as an Academy Award-winning film artist, as opposed to a "has been" with a youthful, bisexual paramour in a film with too many similarities to "Sunset Boulevard." Are you ready for your close-up, Miss Grahame?

Sally Warner We saw this in Wellington at the Brooklyn Penthouse Theatre. They moved it because so many wanted to see it, from their small 30 seat screening to a much bigger one where there were definitely more people. What a wonderful story. Cheering positive lovable without a hint of saccharine or self-pity and a fascinating script - sympathetic without being unreal.I will have to find the book and read it. Annette Bening is fantastic and Jamie Bell enthralling. Well done all for a crisp enjoyable movie. (BTW in typical English style they don't hit you over the head with the point - you get to think for your self)

chrisjhembury Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool ****Fantastic Anette Benning and Jamie Bell hand in powerhouse performances in this emotional packed true life Drama. Jamie Bell plays the struggling actor who becomes romantically involved with Annette Benning's former Hollywood star twice his age.The film adapted from a book based on the real event captivates in it's bitter originality of such a unlikely romance occurring in such unlikely of circumstances and directed with elegance.The unlikely romance begins and true story of love unfolds in the rarest of kinds from Hollywood bold, sad, honest and with sterling performances from all involved.That cast by the way happens to include Stephen Graham, Julie Waters and Vanessa Redgrave who all hit their parts hard adding to the nice ensemble. Benning really does give it her all in career best that unfortunately has occurred the same year as 3 Billboards otherwise an Oscar for Benning's work could well have been guaranteed. Meeting her every step of the way is Bell who not since Billy Elliot has worn his heart on his sleeve with his every emotion captivated across his face we feel every aspect of character's emotion just looking at him.Whilst Graham and Redgrave are some what underused they still make the most of their scenes but it's Waters who has the most lines from the supporting cast and hits them all. Kenneth Granham plays the quiet spoken Father, who hands in a underrated performance with sadness, humor and ultimately a moral compass for the film. This is summarized in touching little scene in the pub with his son where the full complexity of the situation is captivated through a full array of emotions and thought process. Certainly the casting director can raise a class of champagne as the right actors were assembled for the right tasks here.The story unfolds at a nice pace and utilized a change of perspective in the third act effectively to pull on the heartstrings and add to the tragedy of circumstance.In many viewers the dark subject matter at times will become a little too heavy for some to enjoy with a depressing tone as romantic comedy this is not.This is not easy watching or for the casual viewer but if you do invest you will come away with a story that captivates the emotions from such unlikely of origins of human attraction and love from a multitude of angles and emotions.