A sweetly claustrophobic tale of the tempestuous and almost incestuous whirl that lies beneath the genteel and respectable surface of civilised Society in the South west of England. Harnessing Peacocks is great fun, and is a well acted, well presented, rather saucy drawing room comedy, that also manages to expose the hypocrisy of 'the right sort of people'. Vivacious, and fun, and with just a small dollop of romance.There is some nudity, and a considerable amount of foul language, which give ample justification for the fifteen certificate from the British Board of Film Classification.

There's something about this film that makes it standout from the hordes. It has a top class cast, it's romantic, funny and whimsical. Once seen, never forgotten ! It is not a commercial film as such, meaning that if a viewer is looking for bad language, blood, guts and rampant or graphic sex then it is definitely not for them. If a viewer is looking for gentle attributes, beautiful photography, romance, intrigue and lots of stylishly discreet sex, then it is for he/she. It was shown on late night TV in Australia a few years ago as a special treat by John Hinds, the local film buff and expert/critic on the ABC who recommended it highly. I bought it on the internet and have never seen it in video shops or anywhere else for that matter. I am hanging on to my copy for grim death ! It's like a favorite book that one takes down every year or so and re-reads with the greatest of pleasure. I thoroughly recommend it to a discerning viewer.

The first time I saw this film it was shown on a late night film show introduced by John Hinds. I found it to be one of those films which just "grabs you". The story line concerns a young girl who is cast out by her upper class family when she becomes pregnant. She makes her way in the world by becoming the mistress of a select group of men, all of who love her and whom she loves. This is interwoven with the mystery of who the father of her son is. The by-play between John Mills and his stable of elderly lovers is funny and extremely diverting. Peter Davison is good as his business partner. I thoroughly enjoyed it and return to it at least once a year, as ones does with favourite films and books. Serena Scott-Thomas is gorgeous as Hebe.

I saw this a few years back on abc tv in australia and it has stayed with me ever since,I cant recall enough detail to comment in detail just that the performances are fantastic and the story is unique.It is quite simply a beautiful film and I wish it was available on dvd.