It may not really be about Swinging London, but Ann Jellicoe's basic story is certainly a reflection of the new social mores of the 60s, and as adapted for the screen, ultimately becomes a refutation of free sex and a sweet endorsement of monogamous romance. Even though The Knack is a farce, it connects with the real world, finding a compromise between the older generation's scorn and the trendy consumer image of swinging freedom.

If the style now seems familiar, it's because it was immediately seized for commercials and other films. Francis Ford Coppola's You're a Big Boy Now flatly imitates it, to some success, and television's The Monkees went so far as to rob the key Knack image of our carefree madcaps rolling a bedframe down the streets for a joyride. The influence was immediately felt in every comedy from What's New Pussycat? to Casino Royale, and it has yet to abate. Cross The Goon Show with The Knack, and you have Monty Python.

At the center of the tale are the personalities, which collide with the neat simplicity of a perfect one-act play. Tolen's 'cool' is quickly identified as hip aggression, feigning a kind of masculine strength that indeed does mesh with the insecurities of many a love-hungry female. Colin is slightly immature, dreamy, and happy to be a clown if someone else laughs, but he misinterprets his yearnings as attainable through a magic system that only Tolen seems to possess. Tom's Irish artist gives the mix flavor, and provides a nice sounding board for Colin.

The key is of course Rita Tushingham, who made a career out of playing the (sorry to repeat it) Ugly Duckling who comes to the big city, usually in more serious vehicles. She's a doll, an open-minded, initially shy but exuberant and hopeful girl who has 50 adorable reactions to every move made by these would-be Romeos. And she has a tough path to follow - how to find the right man and get to his heart - without being victimized, sullied, or otherwise made the sap for Tolen-like schemes. Nancy's certainly susceptible, but she has a heart too, and the kind of ultimate female common sense about romance that we men pigeonhole as intuition. All of the main characters start as clichés, and become recognizably human, even Tolen; when they find love, Colin and Nancy transcend themselves. The sixties era invented a Cool Vibe that preached that happiness was reserved only for a special hip elite. The Knack is special because it pushes through all that hogwash to formulate a romantic prescription for real happiness.

The look of London is definitely pre-Carnaby street, a fashion really only suited for bands like The Who. Savant has to admit that the look of these London girls reminds him of all the junior high dream dates back in the '65 -'67 era (even in the California sticks), and The Knack engages deep nostalgia for a time and place long gone.

David Watkin's cinematography is every film student's dream, shot with a nice low contrast array of grays that in b&w made those gloomy London days look luminescent. Charles Wood's screenplay is a reminder of how versatile he was - besides Help and this film, he wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade and the recent Iris.

Reviewers often tell us to see The Knack because it has the star of the musical Phantom of the Opera as a younger man. I see little connection between the youthful, agreeably silly Michael Crawford and his older incarnation, and would prefer to remember his earlier film career. A young Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling are among the many female extras; Tolen's 'girl on the motorbike' is Jane Birkin of Blow-Up in her first role.

MGM's DVD of The Knack is a clean and handsome flat 1:66 transfer that would have looked fine slightly cropped to an anamorphic 1:78. 1:66 is the official theatrical format, but it was commonly screened as wide as 1:85 both in Britain and here in the U.S. Most of the shots are acceptable-looking on a flat monitor. John Barry's music still creates a romantic spell; anybody not already aware of the score will be looking for it after seeing the picture. A trailer is the only extra.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, The Knack rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Good
Sound: Good
Supplements: trailer
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: September 15, 2002