People are voting emotionally.

Memorable, crazy movie

good back-story, and good acting

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The seventies was not a particularly good decade for Peter Sellers.He made one bomb after another.His career lost direction and he lost the magic which propelled him to stardom in the fifties.I saw many of these but thankfully not this one which I have just seen.It really is dire despite the fans of Sellers claiming it is a forgotten masterpiece.Do your self a favour,when it comes on TV again,switch to another channel.

Hoffman is unusual in that it takes an nontraditional path. Instead of showing the events leading to the conflict, the film begins at the conflict...and then slowly reveals the events leading to this. An unusual choice to say the least. You learn that a lady has been blackmailed by her boss--forcing this engaged woman to spend the week with him in his apartment--though why she agreed and his ultimate goals aren't readily apparent. Sellers' character is NOT just some creepy pervert--there's something more, though what it is is also not readily apparent.As for Sellers, his appearance as "Hoffman" is rather shocking. He appears rather gaunt and pale and this effect is heightened by his extremely subdued performance. He lacks the spark that you might associate with a Sellers performance--though it's all in pursuit of creating his character. His character is not the flamboyant or obvious guy you'd expect from Sellers, though he's not nearly as subdued or flat as Chauncy Gardner from BEING THERE (perhaps my favorite Sellers film). The bottom line is that this film ISN'T a comedy--and such a performance is appropriate in such a case.The central idea of the film, blackmail, makes this a unique but somewhat creepy film--though it could have been worse. The problem is that over time, as you'd completely expect in such a film, she comes to like him and identify with him--and this sort of film MIGHT give the perverts of the world ideas! Hopefully, this was not the case. Oddly, however, despite the basic plot idea being exploitative and creepy, the film manages, by the end, to be rather romantic and sweet! Overall, an interesting little film that might be worth seeing--though it may just give you creepy vibes. Fortunately, despite the premise, there is no rape other non-consensual sex in the film. Worth a look, certainly, but not the sort of film most would expect from a comedian such as Sellers--there is no humor and he doesn't do any of those weird impersonations you might hope to see.

If you are a fan of Peter Sellers, and you have not seen this film, then make sure you do so immediately. It is an absolute gem of a movie, with an emotional core rare in film. Barely seen or heard of, it has only been broadcast the once, during a Channel 4 season of Sellers' films in the late nineties, and even then at about two in the morning, which is a scandal. Sellers gives the most interesting performance of his career without his trademark silly voice or make-up and is all the better for it, playing Hoffman as a lonely, shadowy figure, yearning somewhat pathetically for Sinead Cusack's Miss Smith. Part of the film's success is possibly due to the fact that the two main characters spend almost the entire film alone, thus enabling them to build the relationship nicely, changing from seeming lechery on Hoffman's part and terror on Miss Smith's to an emotional bond between them. It keeps you guessing about their relationship right to the end, and Seller's displays real emotional power in the later scenes. A wonderfully melancholic film about unrequited love and a man's fear of time passing as well as a kind of variation on Beauty and the Beast. Highly recommended, with a superb score too. Don't miss it.

My favorite Peter Sellers movie. It is light but intense, breezy but penetrating, romantic yet disturbing. I wish it was out on video, I haven't seen it in years. Great dialogue that makes you giggle, like the line above in my One Line Summary.