Stevie is a 1978 biographical drama film produced and directed by Robert Enders from a screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, based on Whitemore's 1977 play of the same name. The film stars Glenda Jackson, Trevor Howard, Mona Washbourne and Alec McCowen.

Synopsis

The film is about the life of British poet Stevie Smith and centres on Smith's relationship with her aunt, with whom she lived for many years in a house in Palmers Green, London.

Cast

Release

Stevie had its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival on 30 August 1978. The film was released in Los Angeles on 13 September 1978 by First Artists. After The Samuel Goldwyn Company acquired the distribution rights from First Artists, the film was released in New York City on 19 June 1981. It was distributed by Hoyts in Australia and by Universal Pictures internationally.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 10 reviews. Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert rated the film four out of four stars and wrote that "it contains one of Glenda Jackson's greatest performances. She knows this character well. [...] She does what great actors can do: She takes a character who might seem uninteresting, and makes us care deeply about the uneventful days of her life." Linda Deutsch, writing for the Associated Press, stated: "Stevie is a rare, exquisite little movie which grows in stature as it lingers in memory", and continued, "Glenda Jackson, in another of those amazing portrayals which make her an actress beyond compare, turns Stevie's rather humdrum existence into a dazzling study of love, anguish and small savored moments of joy."

Accolades