Directed by Sidney Gilliat and written by Bryan Forbes, John Lewis is bored of his job and his wife. Then Liz, wife of a local councillor, sets her sights on him but this is risky stuff in a Welsh valley town. Starring: Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, Virginia Maskell, Kenneth Griffith, Raymond Huntley, John Le Mesurier and Richard Attenborough.
There can tend to be a fair amount of hesitancy entering films today that entirely surround a man’s desire to have an affair, they come with a typical amount of misogyny and intolerably lecherous behaviour. Initially, that’s what Only Two Can Play presents itself as, it’s Peter Sellers’ John being a complete lech, eyeing up every woman that comes his way. To a certain extent that does continue throughout the film, but if you can look past that, there’s actually a decent story brewing beneath it.
Undoubtedly, this would not work at all through the lens of today, if it were not for the chemistry between Sellers and Mai Zetterling. If they didn’t have such a natural, effortless connection, the whole thing would fall into cheap, tasteless territory, but thankfully they make for a fantastic pair. Sellers’ John can be a very basic man in some ways but he’s also fairly charming and intelligent, while Zetterling’s Liz is flirtatious, alluring and quietly manipulative in an enjoyable way. They’re backed by a wonderful ensemble, particularly Virginia Maskell’s Jean, as the underappreciated wife, which is a fairly stereotypical role, but Maskell manages to do a surprising amount with it. She creates a character who is clever, reasonable and pragmatic, it’s a nice change of pace.
Kenneth Griffith is another great addition, his bumbling librarian filled with self-doubt yet a desire to succeed is fun to watch, as he stumbles through the story. It’s a slight surprise to see Richard Attenborough with comedy not being high on the list of genres he typically worked in but a pleasant surprise, nonetheless. It’s a relatively small role but he definitely makes an impression, and has some good banter with Sellers. An appearance from John Le Mesurier never hurts either.
The key issue with Only Two Can Play is that it wants to be two completely different films. There’s a satire of societal hierarchy and playing the game of those with influence but it’s undermining that with a cheap sense of humour and attempt to appeal to the stereotypical audience of its time. It’s a shame as there are some fantastic ingredients to work with, particularly the strong cast, to create something ahead of its time or a cult classic but it falls short. There was so much potential for something more complex, especially as it ends on such a great note, and it can be surprisingly sincere at times. Definitely still worth the watch, it’s simply unfortunate that it didn’t reach the heights it could have.
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