Pre-WWII European governments were staffed by bureaucrats or aristocrats who advanced by maintaining the status quo; by avoiding attention or destroying rivals. In this environment, the main character, a widowed British expatriate, has no options beyond a marriage of convenience. In the confusion surrounding preparations for WWII, she encounters the elements of risk and life or death decisions, changing her options. Very interesting story, typically good Scott-Thomas, appropriately low-key Penn. Maugham liked to put his characters in traps and then see if he could get them out. Shades of "Casablanca."
Review of Up at the Villa
