Good Morning Lovelies, 

Many of you will be like me – unaware of who Gloria Grahame was. Even though she starred in some of the biggest films ever made, including It’s A Wonderful Life, the star is never normally explored in depth as much as the figures who starred alongside her. However, she has one of the most incredible stories that is finally being explored on the big screen. A very fitting place.

Starring Annette Bening and Jamie Bell, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, captures the love story between Grahame (Bening) and Bell’s Peter Turner, her old younger flame that she decides to get back in touch with when she returns to the UK for a play. Falling back in love with each other quickly, Turner recalls their devastation at discovering that Grahame is dying. Told through flashbacks and family tales, the film highlights a compelling story that should have been told a long time ago.

Dramatic and full of passion, Film Stars Don’t Die, shows the understated side of fame. The moments that happen when the front door shuts and the stars are allowed to live their lives without a camera in front of them. From the glamourous stage life of Grahame to the gritty Liverpool setting of Turner’s home and family life, it highlights the parallels between the two, even though they are very different.

The 80s era plays a big part in this, as social media obviously wasn’t around, making the moments seem more fragile in their story’s telling. You feel like you are sitting with the real-life diary of Turner and escaping with each moment between the two. You know the look of the home and you know that these two lovers really did feel the way the two actors are portraying it.

Bening and Bell could not have been more perfect for the roles. Both give a sense that they were waiting for a part like this, as they come together to make this story, which is already real, feel even more personal. Bening highlights the beauty and shine of a classic star, mixed with a disastrous illness so beautifully that it is sad to see her not nominated for more awards for the role.

Whilst Bell plays a character who only he could play. It feels like Billy Elliot grew up and this is his life since the gritty story brings similar characteristics and innocence that we have seen before in Bell. Emotions that work so superbly.

However, whilst they are both amazing, there is a scene stealer who takes some of the shine off them, as Julie Walters excels as Peter’s mother in the film. Caring for Grahame as her illness gets worse, Walters makes sure that you don’t forget about the family life of Turner and tries to immerse Grahame into it as well. A clever mix of highlighting the reality behind the fame.

Bringing to life a star and her love interest on the big screen, Bening and Bell are a perfect pairing to tell this real-life story with heart and beauty. Grahame’s life will be remembered forever now and hopefully shared even more as this film is definitely going to build even more momentum upon its release.

There so, I am giving it…