The Lost Generation in Paris: James Ivory has fashioned a nice companion piece to his Wild Party (the Lost Generation in Hollywood). This, adapted from the autobiographical novel by Jean Rhys, is a good deal more diffuse than the other (the most gratuitous digression, to do with a skinflint pornographer, is actually the most entertaining scene), and the hope seems to be that the clothes and decors will compensate for any sags in the storyline. This hope is not slim. Though the budget is far smaller than what is commonly felt to be essential for a period production, it generates all the Twenties atmosphere anyone could decently desire. Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Isabelle Adjahl. (1981) — Duncan Shepherd