The Remains of the Day

"They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark
Tingle to his bones
'Twas then he felt alone
And wished that he'd gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate" --- B. Dylan

Dignity. Dignity is what Stevens, the main character of The Remains of the Day played by Anthony Hopkins, aspires to in all elements of his life. To maintain every high standard of his position, however, he must drop every pretense of personality and become a part of the scenery in the rooms where what he perceives as greatness can happen – he is not a human being, but a tool for his employer to use as he sees fit.

Hopkins’ performance is restrained and this helps to break the viewers’ hearts even more when he does exhibit emotion because the display is such a sharp contrast to the Stevens that serves his master. The only time he smiles wide is when the woman he loves, Ms. Kenton (Emma Thompson, who will have my heart forever), has told him that she will marry another man. Stevens has given himself over to his work and its requisite stillness, an antithesis of personality that becoming a truly great butler requires, but does not know how to function outside of the job. He doesn’t know how to react to Ms. Kenton’s announcement, so he smiles because that’s what is expected of someone offering another their congratulations. Stevens’ lack of human touch is exhibited in the saddest scene of The Remains of the Day. Ms. Kenton visits Stevens in his room as is her habit at the end of the working day. She notices he is holding a book, then asks him what he’s reading. She draws closer to him and repeats her questions, insinuating that he’s reading something out of character for a man of his reputation and stature. This moment is the closest that the two main characters will ever get to expressing their feelings; to watch Hopkins’ expressions in this moment is to watch a man on the cusp of making a decision for himself and no one else for the first time in his life, then turns away from the edge, back towards his set-in-stone ideas of dignity and duty.

Stevens remembers most of the movie as a flashback while he takes a driving holiday. As he motors through the English countryside, he figures out that his life has centered around that moment with Ms. Kenton in his bedroom, and that life, and love especially, is not often dignified. Often, the right thing to do pushes one past their comfort, leading them to compromise in order to find happiness that lasts. He wishes that he chose differently in the moment of his simple twist of fate, and drives to the coast to meet Ms. Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) once more after not seeing her for twenty years. Neither Stevens nor Ms. Kenton are able to say what they want to say to each other and therein lies the true melancholy beauty of The Remains of the Day; their eyes confirm what they always knew, and their hearts ache because they know their paths will never cross again as they bid each other farewell, Stevens watching Ms. Kenton fade into the distance on a rainy night that covers their tears. All Stevens can hope for is a close to this chapter of his life and fresh start for the next.