Admittedly,’80s moviesdon’t always age well, but the decade also gave us surprisingly nuanced and layered films — like the 1982British psychological thrillerAn Unsuitable Job for a Woman, which challenged stereotypes head-on while reframing how stories are told within the genre. The title of the film itself invites you into the conflict, making use of its provocative discomfort to lay the basis for its point.
Directed byChris Petit, it is a simmering slow-burn that dives headfirst into a world of secrecy and horror, in which a young female detective is thrown into the deep end. What sets it apart is its focus on its lead, delivering more of a character study than a whodunit, a merger that makes it an exciting watch. It is the first screen adaptation ofP.D. James’ novel of the same name before it was turned into apopular TV series in the 1990s. It follows the famous fictional detective character, Cordelia, as she tries to piece together a mysterious death.An Unsuitable Job for a Womanisa beautiful picture drenched in dreadthat’s worth rediscovering.
‘An Unsuitable Job for a Woman’ Is About a Detective Who Leads With Instinct — and That’s the Point
The film’s plot chillingly begins with death. Not just any death, but that of a detective. When you start thinking that you’re about to watchthe most twisted whodunit,the story shifts to introduce you to the inexperienced detective Cordelia Gray (played byPippa Guard), a young woman who inherits the late detective’s agency and takes on her first solo case. The case involves Mark (Alex Guard), a former Cambridge student from a prominent family whose death is quickly ruled a suicide, but things just don’t add up. Cordelia is notthe typical detective in film noirswho’ll bulldoze her way through the case. She’s strategic and often uses her instincts. She gets emotionally attached to the case and particularly her victim, which lends empathy to the cause, seeking justice for him, and eventually allows her to see what others can’t. She walks into rooms no one expects her to be in and disarms suspects by not acting like a threat, slowly chipping away at the protective walls people put up because they assume she’ll leave them standing. She doesn’t. To Cordelia,her sensibilities are her strengths.
An Unsuitable Job for a Womanstraddles the line between character study andmystery, and like any great story, its protagonist doesn’t have it easy. The deeper Cordelia digs,the more dangerous things get. The screenplay byElizabeth McKay,Chris Petit, andBrian Scobieplays its cards close to the chest, revealing details in fragments. By the film’s end, you feel like you have journeyed with Cordelia through it all.
The 10 Most Rewatchable Mystery Movies, Ranked
Mysteries worth a repeated investigation.
‘An Unsuitable Job for a Woman’ Is Brilliantly Directed
Chris Petit’s direction is mood-led.He draws out tension through his lens by capturing the eerie stillness of the English countryside and damp streets in London.The film’s muted green, grey, and earth-toned color palette gives every scene a cold feel, with danger seemingly approaching or already present. But it is how Petit doesn’t rush to reveal secrets and twists in his film that’s endearing. He lets the quiet sit, and it gets under your skin. When Cordelia walks into empty, unsettling rooms, the silence brings a slow and creeping sense of unease. And while Cordelia is the heart of the film, with Pippa Guard imbuing her with courage, intelligence, and passion to outsmart any stumbling block, the rest of the cast carry their respective weights.Billie Whitelawis hard to read as Mark’s distant mother, whilePaul Freeman(you might recognize him fromRaiders of the Lost Ark)plays the estranged father with just enough edge to keep you second-guessing him.
An Unsuitable Job for a Womanis in itself a dark and twisted story, but it trades complicated plot twists, save for the talky reveals toward the end, for a layered character study. By the time it ends, you realize the film was never just about solving a murder case. It’s about surviving one. For fans ofthought-provoking psychological thrillers, there’s something hauntingly beautiful in the film that will give you welcome chills with every tick of the clock.
