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flees in his car, only to be followed by
Cordelia. The two engage in a chase, ending in Andrew driving off of a bridge and into a river, killing himself. Cordelia returns to the Callendar estate, where she is met by Elizabeth, who admits to having given birth to Mark on behalf of the infertile Eve, as James wanted an heir to the family estate. Elizabeth agreed, and carried and birthed Mark under a contractual agreement. Elizabeth also admits to being the one who removed the lingerie and lipstick from Mark's body, and that she summoned Cordelia, not James, to investigate.
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be Isobel. Upon further questioning, Isobel recounts to
Cordelia how she in fact discovered Mark's body in the cottage the night he died, and that he was wearing women's underwear and had purple lipstick smeared across his mouth. Isobel claims to have phoned Andrew, but says she left his body untouched. When Cordelia questions Andrew, he claims he went to see Mark's body, but that Mark was not wearing women's clothing or lipstick as Isobel had claimed.
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Upon returning to the cottage, Cordelia is attacked by Andrew, who has hidden in an upstairs closet, and is thrown into a well on the property. Cordelia manages to climb out of the well, and watches from a distance as Andrew goes to check to see if she has drowned. Upon finding the well empty, Andrew
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Cordelia goes to visit Mark's university friend Isobel, who rebuffs her when she suspects
Cordelia is a journalist. Cordelia learns from the coroner that traces of purple lipstick were found on Mark's mouth, leading them to believe a woman kissed him prior to his death. Cordelia suspects the woman to
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in Mark's cottage, Cordelia concludes that his mother Eve, who died during Mark's childhood, was not in fact his biological mother; Eve left a clue suggesting such in the prayer book, which had been recently given to Mark by
Elizabeth on his 21st birthday. Cordelia confronts Elizabeth about this, as
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mystery, the film has enough wood paneling, wildflowers and overall gentility to appeal to the genre's most ardent fans. But a couple of the film's transitions are abrupt enough to make the head spin, and its final action sequences are woefully perfunctory. The denouement is as disappointing as Mr.
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Cordelia realizes that it was James who in fact murdered Mark, angry over his son's defiance of his family upon learning the true circumstances of his birth. James staged Mark's death to appear as a suicide, and dressed his body in the women's lingerie and lipstick to humiliate him. Cordelia and
331:. The attempt goes awry when Cordelia nearly hangs herself, only to be saved by a young boy who happens to witness the incident through the window. Later, Cordelia is approached by a confrontational Andrew, who threatens her. Upon finding clues in a
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Elizabeth arrive at the scene of Andrew's death near the river, where they find a despondent James. When
Cordelia accuses him of Mark's murder, he denies it. Elizabeth coldly shoots James to death, and is swiftly taken away by authorities.
270:. It follows a young female private investigator who is hired to investigate the mysterious suicide of a university student, only to uncover a number of disturbing secrets about his family. The film is based on the 1972 novel
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Cordelia visits the cottage where Mark committed suicide and speaks with Miss
Markland, the property owner who discovered Mark's body. Cordelia then travels to the nearby Callendar family's
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of Mark
Callendar, a promising university student from a powerful family who abruptly abandoned his studies, moved to a remote cottage, and took employment as a gardener and handyman before
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Elizabeth claims to have delivered Mark in Italy when she was working there as a nurse. Elizabeth tells
Cordelia she will meet her at the cottage later that night to discuss the matter.
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summarized; "Perhaps it is unfair to unravel this tale which is handled from a distance by director
Christopher Petit robbing it of a more forceful narration, timing and revelation."
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A perplexed
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Petit's inability to breathe life into Cordelia, her sleuthing and her peculiar obsession." A review in
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BRITISH PRODUCTION 1981 Moses, Antoinette. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 51, Iss. 4, (Fall 1982): 258.
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of Mark. Cordelia is subsequently met by Andrew, a family friend and elder brother figure to Mark.
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was released theatrically in London on 13 May 1982.
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596:Review: 'An Unsuitable Job for a Woman'
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287:32nd Berlin International Film Festival
568:"Film: 'An Unsuitable Job for a Woman"
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683:British psychological thriller films
551:Eberts, Jake; Illott, Terry (1990).
512:from the original on 12 October 2010
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153:National Film Finance Corporation
688:Cross-dressing in British films
566:Maslin, Janet (26 April 1985).
555:. Faber and Faber. p. 100.
285:The film was entered into the
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693:Films directed by Chris Petit
634:An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
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612:An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
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68:An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
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728:English-language crime films
718:1980s English-language films
414:Alex Guard as Mark Callender
301:is hired to investigate the
703:Films set in country houses
502:"Berlinale: 1982 Programme"
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411:Margaret Wade as Secretary
179:16 February 1982
396:Bernadette Shortt as Temp
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393:Dawn Archibald as Isobel
673:British detective films
553:My indecision is final
252:psychological thriller
713:Films shot in Norfolk
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466:English country house
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464:wrote "As befits an
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516:11 November
440:Jake Eberts
367:Pippa Guard
333:prayer book
318:home movies
276:P. D. James
268:Pippa Guard
256:Chris Petit
109:Pippa Guard
83:Peter McKay
80:Produced by
74:P. D. James
56:Chris Petit
45:Chris Petit
41:Directed by
658:1982 films
652:Categories
574:. New York
479:References
431:Box office
215:94 minutes
198:1982-05-21
183:1982-02-16
137:Production
532:"Cinemas"
189:Berlinale
139:companies
126:Edited by
16:1982 film
578:14 April
510:Archived
239:£750,000
228:Language
92:Starring
63:Based on
637:at the
594:Variety
472:Variety
420:Release
408:as Girl
303:suicide
231:English
220:Country
196: (
181: (
402:as Boy
266:, and
236:Budget
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329:noose
617:IMDb
580:2017
518:2010
348:Cast
293:Plot
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