Whew! Dragged my usual viewing companion all the way to the Fulham Road Cineworld for this,and it's only on at 8.20pm so nearly midnight on return.I went mainly to see Julianne Moore, after reading a brief intro that said she played Barbara Daly, an artist who married the socialite grand-son of the man who invented Bakelite. There was a bit about how she felt undervalued. It didn't prepare me for the impact, by turns entertaining (fine dining and frocks), shocking (explicit debauchery) and harrowing (extreme emotions). Scott Fitzgerald, mentioned in the script, is the nearest in terms of atmosphere) A lot of money had been spent, to very good effect, on costumes and European playgrounds of the rich over three decades The casting was good. I spotted Ken Barlow's ex, Valerie, as a cameo grandmother. Barbara/Julianne was a shockingly bad mother. It all illustrated the truth of the Chinese saying that it takes three generations for an illustrious family to go into decline - four in this case. I'd say it was a woman's film in that the central character is the focus , but it's a long way from Mamma Mia. More like the fifties melodramas in which the Julianne Moore excels.

Sheila