THE WINSLOW BOY (G). (Columbia Tristar) Director: David Mamet Stars: Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca Pidgeon, Jeremy Northam, Gemma Jones, Guy Edwards, Matthew Pidgeon, Colin Stinton, Aden Gillett, Sarah Flind, Alan Polanski Running time: 110 minutes.
In 1912, The Winslow family is shattered when their 13 year old son Ronnie (Guy Edwards) is expelled from naval college after being convicted of stealing a five pound postal note. His father Arthur (Nigel Hawthorne) believes in his innocence and is prepared to gamble the family's reputation and wealth on establishing his innocence and righting an obvious injustice. He hires Sir Robert Morton (Jeremy Northam, from Emma, etc), one of the country's leading attorneys, to fight the legal battle.
While the trial is at the centre of the film, the court room action itself takes place off screen. This gently paced but incisive drama concentrates on exploring the effects the trial and the public notoriety has on this very proper wealthy family. The Winslow Boy is also a discreet romance, as the film explores the slowly attraction that develops between Morton and Catherine (Rebecca Pidgeon), Arthur's independent minded, suffragette daughter.
Terence Rattigan's 1940's play, based upon a real life trial that shook up pre-war England, would seem like unusual material for director David Mamet, the most contemporary of American playwrights. Mamet is best known for his acerbic and hard hitting explorations of the American dream turned sour (Glengarry Glen Ross, etc) rather than sedately paced period pieces. However, he directs with unusual and unexpected restraint and insight - and there's not a harsh four letter word in sight.
The performances from the ensemble cast are all uniformly flawless. Hawthorne has rarely been better, and is excellent in a seemingly tailor made role as the prickly, but determined and surprisingly sympathetic patriarch. Pidgeon (Mamet's wife, also seen in the recent The Spanish Prisoner) delivers an understated performance that succinctly captures the passion and essence of her enlightened character. Northam brings a quiet strength and dignity to his role as the lawyer who challenges many of the accepted precepts of British justice.
This beautiful and intelligently crafted film has class stamped all over it. More importantly though, it also has a sense of passion and warmth that seems to be missing from the period films from the Merchant Ivory team. Mamet's meticulous attention to the period detail beautifully recreates Edwardian London, and Benoit Delhomme's cinematography is simply sumptuous.
**** greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking
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