One Paragraph Movie Review: Kind Hearts and Coronets

Two hundred and eighty-sixth film: Kind Hearts and Coronets, a 1949 black comedy set in Edwardian England starring Alex Guinness as almost everybody. Louis, a half-Italian pauper whose mother was disowned for marrying for love, is completely obsessed with the fact that he is eighth in line to becoming the Duke of Chalfont. To claim what he sees as his birthright, he proceeds to murder as many of the intercedent Alec Guinnesses as he can, unbelievably politely. “It is so difficult to make a neat job of killing people with whom one is not on friendly terms”, he complains, bemoaning the delicate structure of the British class system that impedes his progress. See? You can’t even talk about this movie without sounding a bit posh. “Intercedent”? What a wanker. Regardless, this thing is a deeply dark delight, and I chortled multiple times behind a dainty handkerchief. Four exploding pots of caviar out of five.