Blithe Spirit

 Blithe Spirit came out early this year and is now about to apparate stateside on physical media. If that title sounds familiar, then it's because it's the latest screen version of Noel Coward's 1941 play, which was previously filmed in 1945. How does this version fare?

London, 1937. Charles Condomine (Dan Stevens) is a rich idiot novelist about to make his screenwriting debut. He's married to Ruth (Isla Fisher), whose father owns the studio filming the screenplay. But he's got writer's block and said screenplay is based on his novel. He decides he needs some supernatural help. So he hires the quack psychic Madame Arcati (Judi Dench) to conduct a séance. All's well and good, except Arcati might not be a quack...

Charlie's first wife, Elvira (Leslie Mann), apparates shortly afterwards. She's not a happy ghost and lets him know it. The poltergeist act frustrates Charlie, especially since only he can see and hear her, but sparks fly between them again. She even gets him out of his writer's block. But she still wants to take him to her plane of existence. If only Madame Arcati were here to exorcise Elvira...

Maybe...

Noted theatre director Edward Hall visualizes a screenplay by Meg Leonard, Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft for his first feature. The only lines recognizable from Coward are in the séance. That's not a problem by itself; wanna know what is? Charlie is an unlikable twit all the way. His unhappily wedded life to either of his wives can get tiresome. Ruth is just OK, while Elvira's best moments are when she turns vicious. "Til death do us part" means nothing to her. That's a scary thought. Madame Arcati is the best character of the piece by being the most likable. I would have done without the final twist about Charlie's writing career. Where did that come from? 

Production Designer John Kelly modified the Joldwynds House into the Condomine home. It's a visually interesting house both inside and out; Kelly's recreation of 30's London is also stunning. The costumes designed by Charlotte Walter give Elvira a new outfit in every scene. And they're all appealing. There were also some good ghostly effects, with the best being Elvira's creepy apparating. The ending (not the writing twist) has a great feat of editing. 

I suspect the biggest problem with Blithe Spirit is that it tries too hard to be funny. A few bits of overacting got a chuckle. But not the whole piece. It was free on-demand for me and with its physical release on Tuesday, it'll be cheaper on streaming for most. See it if you're curious. It's only 99 minutes so you won't have to spend too long with these people.