Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 8, 1994                   TAG: 9401080164
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: C12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

'REMAINS' IS BRITISH AT ITS BEST

The Merchant Ivory production company has had considerable success with British themes and stories in "A Room With a View," "Howards End" and other films. But this one goes much, much farther. Imagine the mini-series "Brideshead Revisited" distilled down to feature length and minus all that sexual stuff.

What's left is a film about manners and the English class system set on a beautiful country estate.

Most of the story is set in the 1930s at Darlington Hall. That's where Mr. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins), the archetypal butler, runs the household for Lord Darlington (James Fox). It really begins with the arrival of Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson), the new housekeeper. The Lord's interest in international politics brings many powerful guests to the house and keeps all of the staff busy.

Stevens is a man whose devotion to his duty - as he sees it - borders on obsession and overshadows every other part of his life. That leaves him little time for his father (Peter Vaughan) or for Miss Kenton. She's an intelligent, opinionated woman who's not completely comfortable with the restrictions of her job and the class system it supports. At the same time, she's afraid to leave the security that life in "service" represents.

The slowly deepening relationship between those two is at the center of the film, but it can't be separated from the political subplots that surround them. And the physical setting is almost as important as the human characters.

The set of Darlington Hall is a combination of four houses that provide the exterior and grounds, the sumptuous interiors and the servants' quarters. These places are so carefully filmed by director James Ivory and photographer Tony Pierce-Roberts that they have an unusually strong textured sense of reality.

It's almost pointless to note that Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are up to their usual high standard. These characters aren't as colorful or energetic as the pair they played in "Howards End," but they're just as interesting, believable and sympathetic.

The slow pace of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's script is perhaps unavoidable, and the lack of strong physical action will test the patience of many viewers. Even those who like the film are liable to squirm toward the end. But for moviegoers disposed to this kind of sharply observed examination of manners and society "The Remains of the Day" is a rare treat, not to be missed.

\ The Remains of the Day: *** 1/2

A Columbia Pictures release playing at the Grandin Theatre. 134 min. Rated PG for subject matter.