A MATTER OF CHOICE is an interesting piece of social drama mixed with more traditional crime and thriller aspects which viewers of British B-cinema will be used to. It's directed by the hard-working Vernon Sewell and tells an atypical story about a couple of skirt-chasing young men whose lives fatefully cross with those of an adulterous couple one night. The ponderous narration at the film's opening alerts us to the fact that this is a morality piece, exploring how a single trivial decision can lead unknowingly into disaster.
The problem with the film is that it's very slowly paced and the main plot elements don't occur until half the movie has elapsed. The viewer is saddled with the two youths for much of the running time and they don't make for much in the way of company, stuck in the same kind of superficial rut as the characters in THE DAMNED, BEAT GIRL, THE SYSTEM, and a dozen other similar works of social commentary released during the era.
The second half includes the police investigation and is more involved. There's a nice role for Ballard Berkeley, for once cast against type as a cuckolded husband. Anthony Steel (ALBERT, R. N.) does well as the adulterer too. The ending is solid, but doesn't feel of much consequence really, and the whole thing has dated somewhat since release. As such, A MATTER OF CHOICE is a mildly interesting curio, nothing more.
The problem with the film is that it's very slowly paced and the main plot elements don't occur until half the movie has elapsed. The viewer is saddled with the two youths for much of the running time and they don't make for much in the way of company, stuck in the same kind of superficial rut as the characters in THE DAMNED, BEAT GIRL, THE SYSTEM, and a dozen other similar works of social commentary released during the era.
The second half includes the police investigation and is more involved. There's a nice role for Ballard Berkeley, for once cast against type as a cuckolded husband. Anthony Steel (ALBERT, R. N.) does well as the adulterer too. The ending is solid, but doesn't feel of much consequence really, and the whole thing has dated somewhat since release. As such, A MATTER OF CHOICE is a mildly interesting curio, nothing more.