The Family Way
(1967)
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The Family Way Jenny (Hayley Mills)and Arthur Fitton (Hywel Bennett) are two sensitive youngsters who fail to consummate their recent marriage, following the vulgar ribaldry of their typically working class wedding. The situation is compunded by the couple having to live in the same house as his well-meaning but interfering parents, plus unwelcome speculation on his "performance" from the nosey neighbours. In a town that thrives on gossip, can their marriage stand the pressure? Considered highly controversial in 1966, The Family Way endures as a gentle comedy upon manners, morality and manhood. |
Considered somewhat risqué on its original release, this gentle comedy can now be seen as a fond portrait of an era when sex was still taboo. Complete with a score by Paul McCartney, it recounts the experience of so many 1960s newlyweds who had to share a house with their in-laws for much of the early part of their married lives. Hywel Bennett is bang on form as the husband so wound up by cohabitation that he is unable to consummate his marriage to the equally impressive Hayley Mills. But it's her real-life dad, John Mills, who steals the show with a splendid study in working-class cantankerousness.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Overstretched domestic farce-drama. Good scenes and performances, but it was all much sharper as a one-hour TV play.