The History of Mr Polly (2007) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The movie is set in Fishbourne, a quiet English rural village. The story takes place in a close-knit community where Polly and his wife run a draper's shop, surrounded by country lanes, a local inn, and small-town commerce. This setting illustrates the everyday life and social ties that frame Polly's choices and decisions.

• fishbourne
• england
• rural village
• setting
• english countryside

The story unfolds in early 20th century Britain, during a time when small shops, bicycles, and local inns shaped daily life. The era's conventions and limited opportunities help explain Polly's restlessness and the choices he makes throughout the narrative.

• early 20th century
• britain
• historical
• time period
• vintage era

Polly's core struggle is finding purpose after losing his apprenticeship. He drifts between work, romance, and risky schemes in search of a stable identity. His restlessness drives his decisions, from investing in a shop he dislikes to pursuing brief affairs. The story uses Polly's journey to explore how a sense of self can be shaped, broken, and redefined by action and circumstance.

Foreshadowing: Young Polly appears at the start, showing how early family influences shape his later restlessness.

• identity
• self purpose
• restlessness
• character arc
• purpose

Polly is drawn into entrepreneurship, first by the idea of owning a shop and later by running a draper's shop with his wife Miriam. The small-town economy frames success and failure as moral tests as much as financial ones. His flirtation with danger, arson and sudden fame, reveals how ambition can both empower and destabilize a person.

• ambition
• entrepreneurship
• success
• commerce
• shop ownership

Polly's marriage with Miriam deteriorates into constant bickering and distance, highlighting the cost of mismatched expectations and the search for personal happiness. Miriam's later life as a tea-shop owner shows resilience and the possibility of renewal beyond Polly. The storyline uses domestic life to examine loyalty, compromise, and the struggle to build a shared future.

• marriage
• relationship
• miriam
• domestic conflict
• compromise

A disastrous arson attempt backfires, but Polly's rescue of an elderly neighbour changes his standing in the community. The accidental fame suggests that redemption can arise from acts of crisis rather than deliberate virtue. Polly's subsequent return to a simpler life at the inn marks a turn toward contentment after years of upheaval.

• redemption
• transformation
• rescue
• fame
• personal change

Alfred Polly is the film's restless protagonist, a drifter who struggles to settle into conventional life after losing his apprenticeship. He makes impulsive decisions, investing in a shop he dislikes, flirting with a schoolgirl, and fleeing his unhappy marriage, in search of purpose and happiness. His noblest acts emerge in moments of danger, such as the accidental rescue that makes him briefly famous.

Foreshadowing: Young Polly appears early in the film, highlighting the influences that shape his later restless nature.

• alfred polly
• main character
• protagonist
• lee evans
• restless

Miriam Larkins is Polly's wife, with whom he shares a life built on negotiation and conflict. Their marriage deteriorates into relentless bickering, revealing how disappointment and mismatch can erode affection. Later, she operates a tea-shop with her sister after believing Polly has drowned, showing a capacity for resilience and new beginnings.

• miriam larkins
• anne-marie duff
• wife
• character
• tea-shop

Jim is the innkeeper's bullying brother-in-law, a volatile presence who embodies the dangerous male authority that Polly resists. His drunkenness and aggression push Polly to seek a quieter life away from conflict. Jim's accidental death by drowning in a weir marks a turning point, transforming Polly's exile into a reputation for luck and sympathy.

• jim
• antagonist
• violence
• inn
• conflict

The movie's main emotional journey moves from entrapment and despair to freedom and contentment. Despite a bleak middle section involving marriage strife and a suicide attempt, the tone is ultimately hopeful due to the redemptive arc. Polly finds a new, more fulfilling life at the inn, suggesting that redemption can arise from crisis and that simpler contentment is possible after years of upheaval.

• theme
• message
• meaning
• hopeful ending
• redemption arc