Review of First Monday in October

Thanks to the UK and its multiple channels I discovered a film with both Jan Sterling and one of my favourite late actors Jill Clayburgh. Is Clayburgh forgotten or have I lost both sight and sound ? As for the title it is a quiet one and that is in some ways a pity. I am not going to bore reviewers with the workings of American politics, but both Clayburgh and the excellent Walter Matthau are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. She plays a Conservative and he is shall we say more Liberal. The film begins well with a dispute about pornography which is hilarious showing snippets from a soft core film which we as viewers have glimpses of. Before mentioning my big gripe which has nothing to do with the film, I noticed how wooden Clayburgh was in her role. Tight corseted in Conservative mannerisms the infectious laughter and that offbeat delivery of lines was diminished and I longed for them to surface. The political content skates over pornography quite quickly and so does the advantages and very serious disadvantages of large corporations, and the ending is far too abrupt and too neat. I will not say how that spans out and fizzles out at the same time. There is also the bonus of seeing Jan Sterling again in a too brief and under-developed role as Matthau's wife. I am not concerned if these people are based on real people. It is what is on the screen that counts, and even greats like Van Gogh are often distorted into fiction. As with art so with political figures. I give it an 8 for its approaching subjects of sensitivity but I abhor the fact that in the US it got an R certificate ( Restricted ) and that in the UK sensible for once gave it an AA which meant no one under 14, only to find on the channel I saw it on gave it an 18 ? Are we going retrograde in censorship at this dawn of 2021 ? I sincerely hope not. The confusion of these certificates just goes to show that we still have confused minds about both sex, politics and a few swear words. A film that should be seen, and wear old fashioned clothes to chime with us going backwards.