‘You need somebody to love you while you’re looking for somebody to love...’
A Taste of Honey is one of the critical texts of British kitchen sink realism and is widely regarded as one of the most influential UK films of the 1950s. Based on Shelagh Delaney’s incendiary play (written when she was only 19 years old), A Taste of Honey tackles the social issues of inter-race relationships and teenage pregnancy. Crucially, while Tony Richardson’s film is hard-hitting when it needs to be, it is also funny and eminently watchable…
Jo (Rita Tushingham) finds herself in a tough situation. Unmarried. Pregnant. Father of the child set sail for pastures new. Sadly, this could be potentially tricky even now, but in 1950s Britain, this would be an incredible challenge. Jo doesn’t have much of a support network. Her eccentric and ostentatious mother Helen (Dora Bryan) is more interested in her new husband Peter (despite the fact that he is a complete dickhead). Her loyal friend Geoffrey (Murray Melvin) does offer some respite but for the most part, Jo must fend for herself.
The thing that sets A Taste of Honey apart from many of the other kitchen sink films is that it is from a woman’s perspective. Co-written by Delaney and Richardson and starring a pair of strong female leads, this snapshot of working-class life feels fresher and more inventive than some of the other films of the era. It helps that Tushingham and Bryan are wonderful together, their bickering providing the film’s funniest and best moments.
As stated elsewhere, I’ve watched a bunch of these films recently and some of them tend to merge into one after a while – A Taste of Honey is still vibrant and compelling even all these years later.