keeping mum

KEEPING MUM stars British comedian Rowan Atkinson as an absent-minded vicar of a rural parish who is so distracted by the pressures of his job that he fails to notice his wife's (Kristin Scott Thomas) dalliance with her brash golf instructor (Patrick Swayze), his daughter's parade of new boyfriends, and his young son's regular trouncing by the school's bullies. Enter their charming new housekeeper, Grace (Maggie Smith), the answer to the family's prayers: a sweet, grey-haired old lady with her own distinctive definition of cleaning house. One by one, the family members find that Grace is able to solve their problems, but they don't realize that her means are leading to a lot of ends and the population of their sleepy hamlet is rapidly diminishing. "Rather dark, decidedly English and exceedingly well played." (Variety)