The Shooting Party

Infidelity, class exploitation, and mindless male competitiveness pepper this adaptation of Isabel Colegate's novel, set just before the First World War, when an assortment of toffs gather for pheasant shooting and post-prandial charades. The producer obviously spent a small fortune acquiring the excellent cast, and the film evokes the period admirably, especially through a series of cut-ins anticipating the coming European carnage. But the attack on the values of the time is ultimately far too glossy and toothless.