MY LIFE SO FAR A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
The radiantly inviting MY LIFE SO FAR by director Hugh Hudson (CHARIOTS OF FIRE) is a good-spirited film about a family.
But is it a family film?
Not really. It doesn't quite fit the mold of what we've come to expect for something labeled a "family film," not that it wouldn't be appropriate for kids at least 10, the age of the story's protagonist. The story doesn't have much in the way of slapstick and the comedy is written with a sharp wit that never talks down to the audience. Nicely framed with dramatic flourishes, the story is filled with touching humor that reminds us of our own childhood, especially when we first heard about sex. Told without a single crude or vulgar moment, the sweet tale has a refreshing honesty and, most of all, an innocence that is light-years away from raunchy films like AMERICAN PIE.
The intelligent script by Simon Donald is based on part of Denis Forman's autobiography. With the richness of one of the best Masterpiece Theater television series (which is meant as a high compliment), the movie evokes a warmly nostalgic feeling for a time that few of us have ever experienced. Set in the mid-1920s in Argyll, Scotland, the story takes place in one of those lavish country estates with as many people living downstairs as up.
At the center of the story is a spunky and inquisitive 10-year-old, Fraser Pettigrew (Robert Norman), who lives in the enormous house with his equally large family. He figures his mother's frequent pregnancies must be because she's trying to fill up all those bedrooms.
His boyish father, Edward (Colin Firth), loves nothing better than playing with his children, even if they aren't wild about some of his games, like jumping into a freezing cold lake. Edward is an inventor who has built the only sphagnum moss factory in Europe. As much a hobby as a business, the factory churns out moss products ranging from bandage substitutes to soap to cigars, not all of them successes.
"My dad has two obsessions," Fraser explains, "Beethoven and the Bible." A devout man, Edward enjoys giving sermons at the local church. Reasonably tolerant, Edward only gets really worked up about the playing of jazz, which he loathes. Beethoven, on the other hand, he says is "the voice of God when he's asleep."
Fraser's mother, Moira (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), has a generous spirit and indulges most, if not all, of her husband's whims. Both spouses start off as one-note characters, but slowly and subtly evolve into much richer and complex ones. Mastrantonio, especially, gives a graceful performance that shows how much an actress can reveal about her character while keeping her emotions in check, as they would have been in that era.
The talented supporting cast further enriches the production. Rosemary Harris plays the family's matriarchal grandmother. Malcolm McDowell plays Morris Macintosh, Moira's jealous brother who resents her living in the family estate rather than him. Morris's lovely fiancée, who is half his age, is played bewitchingly by French actress Irène Jacob, the star of Krzysztof Kieslowski's RED. Both Fraser and his father are smitten by her, but the son is too young to do more than dream about her, and the father finds himself already, if somewhat inconveniently, committed.
The movie concerns the year that Fraser was 10. Although many incidents occur, the most interesting of the lot surround the effect of Fraser's reading habits. In the attic, he comes across a treasure trove of "secret" books belonging to his deceased grandfather. Before the Internet, there were books for parents to fret over.
Typical of these is an encyclopedia, where he finds the article on prostitution so fascinating that he reads it 3 times. In the film's funniest scene, he innocently uses his newfound knowledge among a large group of adults. Other words will get him into similar trouble.
After finding some nude etchings inside one of the books, he studies them with the intensity of a scholar. "Now, I possibly know more about naked ladies than my father does," he decides.
At one point, Fraser puts a question bluntly, but sincerely, to his father, who has been talking to him rather obtusely about an awkward sexual subject. "What are the temptations of the flesh?" he asks boldly. "What are they?" his shocked and stammering father replies. "What are they? They are to be avoided at all costs. That's what they are."
The genial comedy, which doesn't have or need much of a plot, finds a perfect little scene to wrap it up. When the ending credits start to roll, you feel thankful that the Pettigrews have allowed you to spend time with them. The experience has felt more like a visit than a movie.
MY LIFE SO FAR runs just 1:33. It is in Scottish English which sometimes requires careful listening. The movie is rated PG-13 for sexual content, including some nude pictures. It would be fine for kids around 10 and up, but in order to appreciate the subject matter more, 12 and up would be better.
My son Jeffrey, age 10, gave the movie ** and thought the story flipped around too much. His friend John, age 11, thought the story was good and gave the movie ** 1/2. John's twin Steven, who gave the picture *** 1/2, really liked the story and thought it was funny. Watching them, you could see that, like the 10-year-old in the picture, they sometimes felt uneasy about the (non-explicit) sexual content of the movie. At other times they were fascinated and found it humorous.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com
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