LEON THE PIG FARMER
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 7.8
Date Released: varies Running Length: 1:42 Rated: NR (Sex, discreet nudity, mature themes)
Starring: Mark Frankel, Janet Suzman, Brian Glover, Maryam D'Abo, Gina Bellman, Connie Booth Directors: Gary Sinyor and Vadim Jean Producers: Gary Sinyor and Vadim Jean Screenplay: Gary Sinyor and Michael Normand Music: John Murphy and David Hughes Released by Cinevista
British humor is often at its peak when it mixes droll wit with MONTY PYTHONesque weirdness. This certainly isn't the perfect fare for mainstream America, but for those who enjoy a touch of the bizarre with their laughter, LEON THE PIG FARMER makes an excellent one-hundred minute diversion.
Leon Geller (Mark Frankel) has reached a crisis point in his life. Dissatisfied with the lying and cheating inherent in his job as a London real estate agent, he quits. Frustrated with the futility of establishing a romantic relationship with his best friend Lisa (Gina Bellman), Leon shocks his very proper Jewish family by engaging in a torrid affair with the non-Jewish Madeleine (Maryam D'Abo), whom he meets after nearly running her over with his car. Then, to cap off his troubles, Leon learns that he is the product of artificial insemination, and that the sperm bank mixed up the test tubes. His actual father is Brian Chadwick (Brian Glover)--a pig farmer in Lower Dinthorpe.
LEON THE PIG FARMER is a singularly entertaining motion picture. Its co-directors, Gary Sinyor and Vadim Jean, have done an excellent job pacing the film (until the very end, when everything sputters to an abrupt halt). The types of humor are spread around evenly, avoiding long periods of stagnation between the funny parts. There are moments guaranteed to bring on bursts of uncontrolled laughter, but more often, LEON causes its audience to smile and chuckle--the product of recognizing the clever wit of a situation.
There's a substantial dash of the unusual in LEON's humor--the sort of material that brings to mind MONTY PYTHON or BLACK ADDER. The unexpected is often the greatest asset of such comedy--and it's present in abundance. How many women will invite a man to their apartment for a cup of tea after nearly getting run down in the street by that person? How many times do strangers approach someone to give advice on intimate matters? And how often does the biological father of a kosher-keeping Jew turn out to be a pig farmer?
As enjoyable as all this zaniness is, there's a none-to-subtle message to go along with it about being true to oneself. The directors don't have an axe to grind, but they offer this for those who want some substance amidst the silliness.
The cast contains a number of well-respected British actors, including Brian Glover and Janet Suzman. Known primarily for dramatic roles, these two give wonderful comic turns, proving that Leslie Nielsen isn't the only one who can put a staid reputation to good use. Maryam D'Abo is marvellous as the manic Madeleine, and hers is easily the standout performance. Connie Booth, a veteran of BBC comedy, including MONTY PYTHON and FAWLTY TOWERS (which she co-created with then-husband John Cleese), has a supporting part.
Mark Frankel, who plays Leon, sometimes overacts his role (especially when he's around pigs), but he's generally solid and has a good knack for comedy. His performance keeps the film moving, and his chemistry with his two leading ladies (D'Abo and Bellman) is effective.
It's easy to see why LEON has been such a hit on the film festival circuit over the past year. It's a thoroughly charming movie in the same vein as another little-known British comedy, GETTING IT RIGHT (which is available on video). I hadn't initially planned to see this movie (believe it or not), but the positive advance word piqued my curiosity. This is one unexpected trip to the theater that I haven't regretted.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews