Directed by Clive Donner and written by Frederic Raphael, a young and ambitious businessman hires an unemployed upper-class man to tutor him in the life skills which he thinks are necessary to succeed. When he succeeds, disaster threatens. Starring: Alan Bates, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews, Millicent Martin, Pauline Delaney, Godfrey Quigley and Alison Leggatt.
It’s fair to say that the idea of young people watching the rich and powerful and having an unquenchable thirst to climb the ladder and take what they have, has always been a beloved plot of cinema. It’s a classic recipe for manipulation and high stakes confidence games, and Nothing but the Best’s Jimmy (Alan Bates) is all in. He’s a character who absolutely reeks of his desperation for success, but he also knows how to push the right buttons and drop the right names. The risk of his being found out adds a very nice intensity and the story flows really well, until the end.
Ultimately, Frederic Raphael’s script falls into such highly coincidental territory, it undermines the experience. It’s a shame as Jimmy’s a great character who you can root for while actively disliking but throwing in that disappointing turn as it approaches the finale, is purely too easy. It’s one of those quintessential ‘gotcha’ moments of film and lets the writer take the simple road. It also doesn’t really have much to say about the class system, so its satire is not particularly strong. Although it does capture the idea that everyone’s playing the game but somehow the same people always win in the end.
Ignoring the shortcomings of the plot, the performances are excellent. Of course, firstly with the usual duplicitous turn from a charming Alan Bates. He gives Jimmy the perfect temperament so while he’s composed, dedicated and untrustworthy, there’s also a slightly naive, short tempered and hurried nature to him which keeps things on edge. Any fans of Netflix’s Grace & Frankie will delight in seeing a young Millicent Martin, in a strong, flirtatious and demure role. She’s a perfect match for Bates but so is Denholm Elliott, in a very different way.
The two of them have a tumultuous friendship, constantly battling to see who will come out on top when they’re mutually using each other. There’s something nicely dark about the way that they interact, every line of dialogue is laced with sarcasm and spite. Qualities that are nicely matched by Clive Donner’s direction, he’s terrific at bringing a sharp edge and a quickness to scenes. Every moment is filled with personality and strongly seen through the perspective of Jimmy, it’s like a personal tour of his journey to fake it till he makes it. Plus, you can’t beat the 4K restoration for bringing out the colours of London and the 1960s fashion.
Nothing but the Best is sharp, stylish and filled with a darkly laced energy but lets itself down with an easy ending. It’s sadly the only thing holding it back and yet is so crucial. A shame to see as it’s filled with excellent performances from a whole host of famous Brits. It’s definitely still worth a watch for any classic film fan but there was potential for this to be a staple of British cinema and it didn’t fulfil its potential.
FilmCarnage.com 