This is Rodney Ackland at his finest. Seeing as the public were not very inspired when Ackland first released this play as "The Pink Room" in 1951, it is great to finally see it getting the credit it deserves. It was a confrontational piece at the time, putting a mirror up to society...a society who didn't want to accept they were anything less than they appeared to be. Ackland wrote about life as it truly was...and the screen version does it a wonderful justice. Judy Dench is wonderful as Christine. Teetering on the edge of her "existence"...and doing everything that she can not to have to deal with the harsh reality of her life. She is surrounded by a host of fascinating characters, who she clings to in various ways, good or bad. Ackland has captured the essence of this period of time...just after the end of World War 2, where rationing and the black market were the only means of obtaining many of lifes little luxuries, and here we see those people who were (whether they accepted it or not) on the "outer" of society come together and exist together as they see fit. The moral high ground is represented through Madge, the ordinary everyday acceptable through Doris (though she is in her own right exceptional) and all the other wonderful aspects of a period through the various array of other peoples who inhabit the "La Vie En Rose". Life through Rose coloured glasses...maybe that's how these people are attempting to escape, when we as the viewer are allowed the privelege to witness the absolute rack and ruin they try so desperately to avoid. Someone once said that the definition of "Hell" is "other people". It is interesting to note that Christine's "Hell" is the LACK of these so-called "other people". This production is wonderful...I would recommend it to anyone to broaden their horizons. :)