I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This was such a revelation to me, I never knew Gloria Grahame even came to England. The actors all gave convincing performances in what is an intimate story. I loved the line which Peter gave when he said, 'I'm just a guy who can't say no' as it is a direct reference to the song which Gloria sang in 'Oklahoma!' - 'I'm just a girl who can't say no'! I will watch this again.

I remember the first time I saw Gloria Grahame on screen it was in the theater in Oklahoma where she played goodhearted good time girl Ado Annie. She played a lot of good time girls in more serious films as well. My best memories of her on the screen were in The Big Heat and Not As A Stranger. During her peak years in the Fifties Gloria Grahame got the first call when one had to cast a woman of easy virtue. She won an Oscar for The Bad And The Beautiful for a woman who is led astray. Usually Gloria did the leading.Annette Bening did a good job interpreting Gloria Grahame best as she could and she got it 3/4 right. There was only one Gloria and she was unqiue. This shows the sad last two years of her life when her career was pretty well over, but she had hopes of a comeback. She was living in the United Kingdom and hardly a big name any more.But whatever she had in the way of happiness came from a May/December romance with young actor Peter Turner played by Jamie Bell. It wasn't easy at times because Grahame still thought of herself as a big star. Lots of Norma Desmond in that woman.The two best scenes in the film are Gloria's meeting with her mother Vanessa Redgrave and a most jealous sister who tried and didn't have the career Gloria did. The classic has been versus a never was. The sister is played with real bite by Frances Barber. The second is Gloria with her doctor saying she had rejected chemotherapy because she was afraid of losing her hair and she wanted to be castable still. Offers were not really coming the late 70s.The ending is similar to Frances Farmer's end in Will There Ever Be A Morning, poignant and sad. Won't reveal, you have to see it and I defy anyone to have a dry eye.A great tribute to a great star.

In 1979 London, Peter Turner (Jamie Bell) is entranced by visiting American actress Gloria Grahame (Annette Bening). They begin a romantic affair. In 1981 Liverpool, Peter is living at home with his parents. Gloria arrives to reignite the relationship but she's suffering from a devastating illness.Bening delivers another great performance. She has a real transformation. Her charisma and screen presence is undeniable. However, the movie doesn't allow the relationship to develop. It's a melodrama thrown at the wall as it watches whether anything actually sticks. The only thing that truly sticks is Bening. The chemistry is on and off. The structure assumes the chemistry rather than nurtures it. This has its moments and Bening almost carries it by her sheer acting power.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017) was directed by Paul McGuigan. The star of the movie is Annette Bening, who portrays the actor Gloria Grahame. Those of us who remember Gloria Grahame on the screen remember her just as director McGuigan remembers her. She was beautiful and sexy. Every leading man desired her, often to their peril. She was an Academy Award winner.In the movie, Grahame is ill and returns to a house in Liverpool where she had stayed when she was younger. She's no longer a star--just a woman who is able to hang on because some people remember when she was a marquee name.The film is melodramatic, and Liverpool looks dark and forlorn. Still, it's worth seeing the movie to watch Bening act. She inhabits the role of Grahame, and I believe Bening could see the possibility of her own career ending up like Grahame's career.We saw this movie at Rochester's wonderful Little Theatre. It will work well on the small screen. The film has a dismal 6.9 IMDb rating. It's better than that. See it and decide for yourself.