Bright Smiler

Avon Eve (Janet Suzman), a British screenwriter just back from an assignment in Hollywood, has checked into the Bolton Health Hydro spa for a week of punishing fasting and diet, exercise, massage and "relaxation." Not at all convinced that she's made the right decision to stay, the cynical Avon begins to dread her vacation when she encounters Sonia (Jane Asher), her masseuse. Sonia, a "bright smiler" as Avon labels her (a woman brought up not to complain, living in reduced circumstances in a dead-end job, and putting on a brave face for people who couldn't care less about her), knows exactly who Avon is, recounting favorably an old screenplay Avon wrote - one which Avon dreads remembering because it was so awful. Faced with the gloomy prospect of enduring Sonia's chipper droning each day, Avon tries to block out Sonia's faux-sunny tales of woe, but increasingly, Sonia becomes more strident in her storytelling. Recounting a lost love that robbed her of her youth and the promise of a dancing career, Sonia becomes more agitated (while Avon remains blasé and dismissive) - particularly when that former love shows up at the spa.