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The Curzon Mayfair, nestled in a side street north of Piccadilly, is the most genteel British cinema I know. Its courteous patrons, older than average audiences, do not fiddle noisily with sweet wrappers, talk on their mobiles or shout back at the screen. When films reach an end, they are met with approving sounds that barely rise above a murmur.
It's entirely appropriate that Merchant Ivory films have traditionally enjoyed extended runs there for, like the Curzon Mayfair, they offer the sensation of stepping back into calmer, less complex times.
This long-standing arrangement reaches its end next weekend, when Merchant Ivory's last film The White Countess opens there. Since the death of producer Ismail Merchant last May, director James Ivory is left to soldier on alone without his partner of 42 years. Few believe things can ever be the same without the flamboyant Merchant.
The company's star has dimmed in recent years, and it's odd to recall that when I began writing about films in Britain 15 years ago, Merchant Ivory was not just our industry's brand...