I was lucky enough to see this play many years ago in London. It was on a rainy night and everything just worked perfectly. Happened across the movie, which I did not know they had even made, and even after all these years, I loved the story again.

This film has nothing going for it. The performances from all of them were at the most average. They felt blunt and not human. Each scene seemed to drag on way too much,I found myself checking the time every 10 minutes. Not a single aspect of the film was above average. It was boring and didn't handle Eva Smiths death emotionally and seemed forced so I wasn't affected by it. There's no point trying to watch an hour and a half talking simulator.

'An Inspector Calls' is a wonderful play written by J B Priestley and first performed in the mid-1940s. It was transformed into a brilliant film, starring the great Alastair Sim as the Inspector, in 1954 and against which all subsequent performances have to be measured. That said, this version comes close.As the Inspector, David Thewlis is wonderfully cast and Ken Stott makes a great contribution as the rich and selfish Mr Birling. Miranda Richardson is a marvellously arrogant Mrs Birling, while the rest of the cast play rather more sympathetic characters. Poor Eva Smith is pretty and doomed, her life destroyed by the Birling family whether through malice, selfishness or because they simply don't understand 'how the other half lives'.Eva Smith does nothing wrong; she simply tries to survive but at every turn she seems destined to collide with some member, or near member, of the Birling family. Sacked by one, sacked again because of another; abandoned by a third and left pregnant by a fourth, she is finally turned away by the local poor law committee, chaired without any sign of sympathy or compassion by Mrs Birling. The poor girl is left with only one way out, and she takes it.This is a fine adaptation of a great play. Wonderfully cast, superbly acted and truly gripping; my one and only criticism is of the occasionally too loud and quite unnecessary musical accompaniment. The way in which the various members of the family react as their parts in Eva's death come to light reflects their different attitudes to life. The senior members remain aloof and in denial while the younger ones show far greater sensitivity and feelings of guilt until the Inspector's credentials are called into question; then they start to regain their confidence as it seems it was all a rather nasty joke. When they discover that there has been no such death reported, joy is almost unconfined.And then the telephone rings and the only question left unanswered is 'Who was the Inspector ?'

​'AN INSPECTOR CALLS' - 2015Directed by Aisling Walsh{Maudie; Song for a Raggy Boy}Starring David Thewslis{Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas}, Ken Stott{The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; Cafe Society} and Chloe Pirrie{Shell; Youth}Plot Overview: After a young girl commits suicide, Inspector Goole(David Thewlis) pays the Birling family a visit. Armed with an in depth knowledge about the events and a calm demeanour, Goole interrogates the household, trying to get to the bottom of the night's events.It would probably be useful to say my thoughts on the play before I divulge my opinion of this film. My opinion of the play is that it's a perfectly passable metaphor for Socialism VS Capitalism, contains some good characters and lines but ultimately falters due to its 'Scooby-Doo' plot structure. Now my thoughts on the film. It is a perfectly passable metaphor for Socialism VS Capitalism, contains some good characters and lines but ultimately falters due to its 'Scooby Doo' plot structure.So what is good about it? David Thewlis is probably the film's greatest strength. I admire the man as an actor in pretty much every role he plays. He has a certain gravitas to him and certain demeanour which makes him both intimidating and likable at the same time. Inspector Goole was the only character I liked in the play, and that statement carries over to this film. Another performance that was semi-decent in the movie was Ken Stott as Birling. He was pretty much exactly what I expected and Stott did a decent job at portraying the real remorseless nature of Birling. Despite this, I don't think he stole the role. I could name a couple actors that I think could have done a much better job in the role, like Brian Cox for example. But Stott didn't do a bad job. It wasn't 'good' but it was at least passable.Another major praise I can award the film is the amazing atmosphere they create, mostly down the the fantastic music. Dominik Scherer's fantastic score constantly builds up an eerie atmosphere that PERFECTLY falls in line with the plot of the movie. If anything, I'd argue that the music is the driving force of the movie. Without such a good score, the movie would be just a dull and monotonous experience. But the excellent score makes it a dull and monotonous experience with great atmosphere. The final praise I can give the film is the cinematography. The story may be dumb and the overall package may be extremely boring, but it definitely looks nice. The editing is also pretty concise and at least decent. The lighting is excellent and, as well as the music, helps to manufacture a chilling atmosphere. As for issues, I can certainly name a couple. Any and all performances that do not stem from Thewlis or Stott are very poor. I didn't believe a single word most the remainder of the cast uttered and I really couldn't have cared less about any of them. That leads into a separate flaw: the fact that I couldn't care any less about the characters. Not to say the characters are not good characters. They are certainly interesting. But by the time the movie is over, I didn't care of sympathise with any of them. You could argue that's the point but I disagree. I should like and care for certain characters in the movie, Eva Smith for example, but I just don't. None of them deserve sympathy or empathy, which is a little strange because that begs the question: what is the point of it all? What do we the audience get out of the movie if our care for anyone on screen is at point 0? I mean all the characters have depth and are well written but I didn't even really root for the Inspector. What's the point in it all? I should CONNECT and sympathise with the characters on screen but I just don't. I couldn't care less about them. And that really damages the overall experience. Then there is an issue that is technically out of the filmmaker's hands: I have no interest in the story. This probably relates back to the previous complaint by the fact that we are supposed to be invested in these characters but I just wasn't. I understand the importance of certain themes and how they were effective at the time of release, but by today? I don't think they matter that much. The system of class is pretty much nonexistent. Women are much more fairly treated. There isn't really a distinctive war raging on between generations. Therefore, the movie feels pointless as a whole. And don't even get me started on that ending. I liked the play's ending for it's eerie ambiguity but this makes it 10x more confusing and idiotic. It adds 50 theories into a blender, spits in it and then adds the remains of J.B Priestley before pressing blend and watching all your hard work spray about, because you forgot to put a lid on it.As a whole, I didn't like this movie. David Thewlis was excellent and it has a fantastic atmosphere, but the story and characters are distinctly lacking. It's not a good movie in my opinion, but it's not entirely bad. The praise I awarded just about balances out the negatives, but only just about. As a whole, I don't think this film is worth seeing. It's not that good. I'll rate 2015's 'An Inspector Calls' 5 'Long Stares' out of 10!