THE DOOR

Set in Hungary in the mid-20th century, ‘The Door’ tells the story of two women, one a writer, the other a maid, both struggling to find their place in this post-war world and both in desperate need of each others' friendship, but neither willing to admit to it.

Based on the award-winning novel of the same name, it becomes obvious from the get-go that there is some serious ‘lost in translation’ happening. Between the odd and often messy tone of the film to the appalling and distracting dubbing over many of the characters' dialogue, it’s difficult to really settle into the story and become attached to the characters. The dialogue is abrasive and the scenes very matter-of-fact with little to no grace or ease to them. One might suspect that this was the director Istvan Szabo’s (‘Being Julia’) way of cutting out “fluff”, but it’s still in there, making this editing choice all the more bizarre and uncomfortable to watch. The music is also a misguided choice. Often a seamless accompaniment to any scene or film, the score for ‘The Door’ is brash, disjointed and not in keeping with the overall tone of the film.