Clifford Kershaw

A quiet housewife and charwoman is abused and exploited by just about everybody, including her daughter-in-law.

Cited by Mike Leigh as one of his personal favorites among his own works, THE KISS OF DEATH is a mordantly funny portrait of Trevor (David Threlfall), a terminally shy mortician’s assistant who stumbles awkwardly into a would-be relationship with Linda (Kay Adshead), a more assertive young woman whom he meets through his buddy’s girlfriend. Trevor’s bumbling attempts at intimacy culminate in one of the most unforgettable and searingly honest “love scenes” ever captured on film.

Adaptation of MR James's classic ghost story. A 17th-century squire is haunted by a curse his great uncle brought upon the household.