The Servant - 50th Anniversary

With a screenplay by Harold Pinter and adapted from the novel by Robin Maugham, class warfare and as well as sexual tension has rarely been portrayed so unsettling and yet, enticing.

The Servant is a psychological drama from 1963, concerning the dissection of two men: idle and wealthy young bachelor Tony (James Fox), who has recently returned from Africa, and Barrett (Dirk Bogarde), a domestic servant hired by Tony to help him get his life in order.
The two men soon settle into a seemingly dominant master and submissive servant routine, but things begin to change when Tony’s snooty fiancée Susan (Wendy Craig) arrives. Being of posh pedigree, she instantly takes a dislike to Barrett, at one point suggesting to Tony (after Barrett disturbed them, having entered their room to serve tea), “Restrict him to his quarters, why don’t you!” Her attitude reflects the typical stance of the upper classes toward the lower classes in Pinter’s razor sharp script.

Feeling increasingly threatened by the control which Barrett holds over Tony, and Tony’s refusal to dismiss him, Susan’s loathing of he manservant becomes ever more obvious. She also suspects that Barrett has a hidden agenda. “What is it that you want from this house?” she asks him, to which he replies “I am the servant here.”

Things change further when Barrett introduces his alleged sister Vera (Sarah Miles) into the household as a maid. Soon after, the titillating Vera excites and seduces Tony on the kitchen table, and the two carry on a hidden téte-a-téte behind the backs of Barret and Susan. But whilst Susan doesn’t have the slightest idea about her fiancé’s fling, Barrett seems aware of Vera’s game. It then is revealed that the two are in fact not brother and sister, but lovers, and that they play a perverse psychological game with Tony – we don’t know yet whether for fun or for profit.

After a confrontation during which Susan is present, she realises what has been going on. In an attempt to save his engagement with her, Tony orders both Barrett and Vera to pack their things and leave. But so does Susan. Desperate, Tony hits the nightlife and bars and pubs. During one outing, he bumps into Barrett, who begs him for forgiveness and claims that it was Vera who played games all along. Hesitantly, Tony takes Barrett back as his servant, but then the power dynamic begins to shift dramatically. Now Tony is the one who is eager to please Barrett, while Barrett rules and holds command over the increasingly dependent Tony. Their power games now become erotically charged, though this being filmed in 1963, the hints are subtle. Nonetheless, director Losey’s artful visual cues have earned the film a reputation as one of the landmarks of gay cinema.
Vera also returns to the household and takes up her old games with Tony. In the final scene, Susan, in a desperate attempt to rekindle her love and broken relationship with Tony, arrives in the house one evening. She stumbles upon a party scene involving Tony, Barrett, Vera and various other (none-upper class) guests – their body language as well as the camera angles suggest they are under the influence of substances, and about to indulge in group sex. In an act of final humiliation, Barrett goes up to Susan and kisses her. She is repulsed but allows him touch her, in the hope to win Tony back. Realising that he is no longer the person she used to love and that he no longer cares about her and her world, she walks away for good.

The Servant won three BAFTA Awards, including ‘Best Actor’ for Dirk Bogarde, ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ for James Fox, and ‘Best Cinematography’ for Douglas Slocombe, which is perfectly complemented by Johnny Danworth’s wistful jazz score.

The DVD and Blu-ray release comes with a host of Extra features, including extensive interviews with the key players as well as Pinter and Losey, and stills gallery and trailer.