Film Review: An Inspector Calls (2015)

Director: Aisling Walsh

Writers: J.B. Priestley & Helen Edmundson

Original Release Date: 13 September 2015

Starring: David Thewlis, Sophie Rundle, Finn Cole, Chloe Pirrie

Available for Streaming on Amazon Prime

A mysterious Inspector investigates the wealthy Birling family and their dinner guests following the suicide of a young woman.

Hello, once again my friends! It's been a little chunk of time since my last post and stumbled upon this golden nugget during my search through prime video on Amazon. One of my biggest genres for any sort of storytelling revolves around historical fiction whether that be romance, mystery, or crime thrillers such as this title here. In my search for something to fill the gap that I felt slowly bearing down on me, I noticed that this film was available, and being a fan of David Thewlis I figured it was worth a shot!

The film is set in 1912 near the end of Edwardian England, and we meet the Birling family who has sat down to dinner to celebrate the engagement of young Sheila Birling to handsome and eligible, Gerald Croft. The Birling family is headed by industrialist Arthur Birling, his wife Sybil, and trailing behind Sheila is their young moody son, Eric. In the middle of their celebration, there is a mysterious knock on the door and the maid lets in the quiet and intimidating Inspector Goole. You see, a young girl has died by suicide just hours earlier, and he wants to know why. Although the family claims to know nothing about her, it seems that the secrets they are keeping will not escape the notice of the Inspector.

First off, I want to mention how much I enjoyed this film. It’s based on the play of the same name written by J.B. Priestley and gave me Agatha Christie vibes the moment it started to the moment it ended. It is very much reminiscent of Murder on the Orient Express, in which case if you’ve read the book or seen the film, then you know exactly what is going on within this story.

So semi-spoiler but not really, I love how each character is connected to the suicide. Although they may not take the blame for what’s happened, they can’t deny that they could have done something to stop it if only they did better. But what I love most is that you get the entire spectrum of responses from the family, from those that are adamant that it’s the girls own fault, that this entire scenario and line of questioning is ridiculous, to those that feel remorseful and sorry for any part they had to play towards the girl's demise.

A detail that I really enjoyed, is that you don’t really know who the Inspector is or what he is trying to achieve. Yes, we know he is trying to get to the bottom of what caused the girl to take that final step, but ultimately, we have to ask ourselves as the audience if this course of action is really correct in regard to police regulation. Would a Police Inspector really care as to the cause and effect of the suicide of a poor girl? Or would they rather simply take a statement and bid the family goodnight? So, then we question what is this Inspector really trying to accomplish and why?

What’s lovely about the entire film is how the story is unfolded through the Inspector telling each individual the account of their involvement which then includes flashbacks to the girl’s perspective and life. It’s a great opportunity to expand on how far and how much the girl had gone through before eventually deciding to take her own life, whereas the family remains in the one dining room for the entire film. If I were to get really analytical of it all I would say it’s symbolic of how the family is stable and safe in their ivory tower and that regardless of what’s happened, they are set in their ways and immovable. This shows not only in the setting but the personalities of the individuals, and that they only have committed (what in their minds are) minimal cruel actions. But they don't seem to understand that by making those decisions, they sent ripples out into the world around them, affecting everyone else with no regard to the repercussions.

So, although you can say that this is a very “message-driven” film, I think that the point is poignant, and makes sense to the story being told. I think the drama, although not necessarily suspenseful to a certain degree, was definitely intriguing and I wanted to see how the scenario played out regardless.

Overall this film was an experience and a joy to watch! I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good period drama, and I rate it a solid 4/5! It’s a movie that is beautiful in design, setting, and costuming (oh, the costumes!!), and also beautiful in the storytelling.

Until next time friends...