Shirley Valentine (Pauline Collins) is a bored housewife. She's not simply breaking the 4th wall. She's actually talking to the wall. Her husband Joe has grown cold with a set schedule and she doesn't have many friends left from the old days. They're alone after their starving poet son Brian and daughter Millandra moved out. Her friend 'feminist' divorcée Jane wins two tickets to Greece and brings Shirley along with her. At school, she had hoped to be an air hostess but she was always put down by the headmistress. She became a rebel jealous of her school rival goodie Marjorie Majors. She meets Marjorie again as adults with surprising revelations. She fights with Joe and her daughter. Jane abandons her for a guy once they're on the plane. She meets local bar owner Costas (Tom Conti).
This is based on an one-woman play and this is very much about that one woman. It all rests on Pauline Collins' shoulders and she is absolutely winning. She takes up the screen. She is charming, funny, and a fully-formed woman. Some of the side characters can be too broad. There are a couple of big laughs but mostly it's Pauline Collins' humanity that shines through.
This is based on an one-woman play and this is very much about that one woman. It all rests on Pauline Collins' shoulders and she is absolutely winning. She takes up the screen. She is charming, funny, and a fully-formed woman. Some of the side characters can be too broad. There are a couple of big laughs but mostly it's Pauline Collins' humanity that shines through.