Gideon's Daughter

I just saw Gideon's Daughter and absolutely loved it! People are probably tired of hearing me go on and on about how much I love Stephen Poliakoff as both a writer and director, so suffice it to say that he definitely did not disappoint (here is a link to my reviews for other Poliakoff films).

The film tackles many issues including the idea of family, grief and celebrity and takes place in the tumultuous summer of the New Labour election victory and Princess Diana's death.

As usual, Poliakoff delivered an excellent screenplay, but this particular film was really a character piece. The more important moment were the ones when nothing was being said at all. There were three key performances that made this film so wonderful and managed to make everything come together and work. No particular performance stood out. Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson and Emily Blunt were all fantastic (though at this point, I believe that I would be much more surprised if one of them gave a performance that was anything less than absolutely fantastic).

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

The Lost Prince

I just finished watching the Lost Prince by Stephen Poliakoff (click here to see my past Stephen Poliakoff posts).  It came out in 2003 and originally aired in England. The film centers on the true story of Prince John (son of King George V and Queen Mary). Many forget about Prince John. He suffered from epilepsy and autism. He was locked away and isolated starting at a young age and kept out of the sight of the general public.

The film takes place during a very important time in history. It intertwines several stories that all take place at the very start of the first World War. At the time, most of the European houses were connected in some way. Below is a family tree (click to enlarge) that I created. It shows the connections between some of the very powerful figures of the time.

This film was very interesting to watch. These real stories were truly compelling, but it was the ensemble cast that truly made it worth watching. Miranda Richardson did a wonderful job as Queen Mary (it is funny since as just saw her in the Young Victoria as this character's Great-Grandmother-In-Law). Michael Gambon played Edward VII. Tom Hollander played King George V. Two of my favorite characters in the film were also played by two of my favorite actors. Bill Nighy played Stamfordham and Gina McKee played Lalla. They were both wonderful in the film.

I was probably most impresses by the young actors in the film. Daniel Williams and Matthew James Thomas both played Prince John. Brock Everitt-Elwick and Rollo Weeks both played Prince George. I was very impressed by Rollo Weeks. I have seen him in several roles (my favorite is Berkeley Square), but this was the first time when he was really able to grow as an actor and to show this to the audience.






I would definitely recommend this film to anyone. It is definitely a must-see!

Young Victoria

I saw Young Victoria yesterday and really loved it. I was a little worried, because I have been looking forward to seeing it for so long, but it definitely lived up to all of the hype and anticipation. The film begins a year before Queen Victoria's coronation and follows her first few years on the throne. It was a beautiful film. The costumes and the settings were absolutely magnificent. Aside from the obvious aesthetic value, the film was also really interesting to watch. I have only every really seen the later years of Queen Victoria's life depicted. This was a really interesting period of time, that I never really knew about.

The cast was wonderful and included performances by Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, and Mark Strong. I had seen all of these actors in past performances, but the performance that I was most impressed with came from Rupert Friend. I had seen him before in the Libertine (2004), Pride and Prejudice (2005), the Last Legion (2007), and Cheri (2009). Upon watching this film, I found myself forgetting about all of the other characters that he has played. He completely transformed for this role and did a marvelous job.

In case you hadn't guessed yet, I would definitely recommend this film. If is DEFINITELY a must-see!