Story Overview

Keeping Mum

In the quiet English parish of Little Wallop, Walter Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson), a devoted but absent-minded vicar, is consumed by his obsession with crafting the perfect sermon. His fixation blinds him to the unraveling chaos within his own household. His wife Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas) is entangled in a reckless affair with her brash golf instructor Lance (Patrick Swayze), while their daughter Holly (Tamsin Egerton) drifts from one impulsive romance to another. Meanwhile, their young son Petey (Toby Parkes) suffers silently as the constant target of school bullies.

Overwhelmed by her collapsing family life, Gloria finds herself desperate for relief—from her loveless marriage, her troubled children, and even the incessant barking of the neighbor’s dog. In her despair, she turns to prayer, seeking a miracle to restore order to her life.

Her prayers seem answered with the sudden arrival of Grace Hawkins (Maggie Smith), a seemingly sweet and perceptive elderly housekeeper. Beneath her gentle demeanor, however, lies a startlingly unconventional approach to problem-solving. As Grace begins to “fix” the family’s issues in her own disturbingly effective way, the Goodfellows’ lives take a darkly comedic turn—where morality blurs, and solutions come at an unexpected cost.