Tom Wilkinson- Actor of the Week

Tom Wilkinson is one of those actors who pops up all over the place and you spend 15 minutes trying to remember his name and which other films you have seen him in. And I mean that in the best possible sense. He melts into a role and you forget who the actor is while you are watching him at work.

Tom Wilkinson as the dying Mr. Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility

Although it is a small role, as the dying Mr. Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Tom Wilkinson made quite an impression on me. How could John Dashwood not fulfill his promise to his dying father? For shame!

Tom Wilkinson with his friends and his gnome in The Full Monty

As the garden-gnome-loving Gerald in The Full Monty, Tom Wilkinson is hysterical and tragic all at the same time. When he is in the "dole queue" as the Brits say, I always burst out laughing when he starts his dance routine with the twirl at the end. Donna Summers Hot Stuff will always make me think of Gerald and his garden gnomes!

Gaz: Y' know Dave, it's a thought...
Gerald: Ha! I could just see Little and Large prancing around Sheffield with their widges hanging out. Now that *would* be worth 10 quid...
Gaz:Don't be so bloody daft. We were just saying...
Gerald: Widges on parade! Bring your own microscope! 

Tom Wilkinson as Hugh Fennyman in Shakespeare in Love

Tom was brilliant as Hugh Fennyman, "the money" in Shakespeare in Love, and he is the ultimate theatre groupie. His money buys him a role in the play, that of the apothecary. In the role of a very serious but very bad actor, his small part is unforgettable.

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.

Tom Wilkinson as Dr. Chasuble and Anna Massey as Miss Prism

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Tom Wilkinson plays Dr. Frederick Chasuble, the romantic interest of Miss Prism.

Dr. Chasuble: Charity dear Miss Prism, charity! None of us are perfect. I myself am peculiarly susceptible to draughts. 

Tom Wilkinson as Pieter Van Ruijvin in Girl with a Pearl Earring

Tom Wilkinson was wonderfully evil as Vermeer's patron in Girl with a Pearl Earring. He looked like he was having some fun with this character and in fact was one of the best parts of this lovely but rather uneven film.

Van Ruijven: (Leering) Ripe as a plum, still unplucked.

Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin in John Adams

OK, case in point. Who amongst you would have recognized Tom Wilkinson from this photo alone? He brings Benjamin Franklin to life in John Adams.

Benjamin Franklin: You are a guest in Philadelphia. Fish, and guests, stink after three days.

Tom Wilkinson as Joe Kennedy Sr. in The Kennedys

In The Kennedys Tom was great as the hard nosed, hard driving head of the Kennedy clan. Don't mess with Joseph P. Kennedy.

Tom Wilkinson as Graham in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Tom seems to be channeling his inner child in the new film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I can't wait to see this when it comes out in a few weeks. His wife, actress Diana Hardcastle has a small role in it as well (as Carol) so it must have been fun to take a trip to India as a family.

Jean: How can you bear this country? What do you see that I don't?
Graham: The light, colours, smiles...all life is here.


So all I can say in conclusion is that Tom Wilkinson is HOT STUFF BABY! Any other films that you really enjoyed him in? He's been in quite a few...

P.S. Couldn't find a good photo of him as Seth Pecksniff in Martin Chuzzlewit, but that was one of his best! And he is now filming The Lone Ranger as bad guy Latham Cole, with Johnny Depp as Tonto. I don't know whether to be thrilled or worried about the latter!

Top 10 Posts of 2011

Helena Bonham Carter with Tim Burton and kids Billy and Nell

1. Helena Bonham Carter-Actor of the Week. This photo specifically of HBC with her family seemed to interest a lot of readers.

Clueless with Alicia Silverstone

2. Clueless 1995...A Modern Emma Turns 16! Appropriately for this blog, the modern version of Jane Austen's Emma was one of my most popular posts.

Victoria & Albert

3.Victoria and Albert 2001 starring Victoria Hamilton, Jonathan Firth and Penelope Wilton  I love this miniseries about the real life romance between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. My readers loved it too. It stars Jonathan Firth, Colin's brother as Prince Albert and he does a fabulous job along with Victoria Hamilton.

William and Catherine-The Official Photo

4. Royal Weddings, Gowns and Hats, Oh My!  Didn't we all have fun at the end of April watching the royal wedding? Well I sure did. Glad my readers agreed!

Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent in Black Adder

5. Hugh Laurie- Actor of the Week  This goofy photo of Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent in Black Adder drove a lot of folks to my blog. Thanks Hugh!

David Cassidy, Bobby Sherman and Donny Osmond-My Tiger Beat past!

6. David Cassidy to Richard Armitage, My ever changing taste in men!  This is one of my favourite posts ever, so I am glad my readers agreed!

Jennifer Ehle

7. Jennifer Ehle- Actor of the Week  I have loved Jennifer Ehle since she was snogging Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice 1995. She now has a great role as a dead doctor (I kid you not) in an American TV show called A Gifted Man. She is also addicted to twitter and can be found here.

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette

8. Gorgeous but disappointing films- Marie Antoinette and Girl With a Pearl Earring  This post celebrated a couple of beautiful films that didn't quite satisfy me in the plot and acting departments. Both still worth seeing for the eye candy however (and a bit of historical enlightenment).

The Tudors with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a skinny sexy King Henry VIII

9.  The Tudors Marathon I watched this series while laid up with a bad throat infection last January. Absolutely heavenly but of course Henry VIII is skinny and sexy and the women all have perfect teeth and blow dried hair. Again, good eye candy and entertaining to boot!

Billy Elliot 2000

 
10. Billy Elliot- The Film (2000) This one was a stretch to call a Period Drama but it was set in 1984, so there! I just love this film and so, apparently, do my readers.

Happy New Year and may we all enjoy lots of good Period Drama throughout 2012. I am really looking forward to the new Downton Abbey season 2 (and Christmas Special, whenever we get that!) and also Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy if it ever goes into wide release. It is stuck in the big cities right now, but it will soon come to my little independent cinema in Waterloo Ontario!

Cheers!

Gorgeous but disappointing films- Marie Antoinette and Girl With a Pearl Earring

Kirsten Dunst as the iconic Marie Antoinette

Scarlett Johansson as Vermeer's iconic Girl With a Pearl Earring

As my regular readers well know, there are few period dramas I don't like (or love!) and even these two have many redeeming qualities, but I have to say that they were both gorgeous disappointments for me. Both Marie Antoinette and Girl With a Pearl Earring are based on books (the former on a biography by Antonia Fraser and the latter a work of fiction by Tracy Chevalier) and both could have been great films. But alas they are not great. More like so-so films with some pretty breathtaking cinematography.

Am I the only one creeped out by Colin Firth's wig?!

As I have recently arrived home from a trip to Paris and Amsterdam/Delft, I was scouring my DVD collection for films with either French or Dutch influences to watch and write about. These two leapt out at me. As we had actually just been to Delft, the quaint historic town where Vermeer spent his entire life, I pulled out Girl With a Pearl Earring first. I mean, how can you miss with Colin Firth, ScarJo, Tom Wilkinson and Judy Parfitt?

Tom Wilkinson and Judy Parfitt as Vermeer's patron and mother-in-law are truly wonderful

The indoor sets and the artistic quality of the lighting were lovely, although the outdoor shots were more like Venice than Delft, largely because they reused a set in Luxembourg where a film set in Venice was shot. Sigh. The real canals as they are just as they would have been in Vermeer's time but I guess filming on location is difficult. And although the acting seems to be good, they just didn't lose me in their characters. I still felt I was watching Colin Firth in a bad wig (although the one on Cillian Murphy was worse!) and ScarJo in a bonnet.

Cillian Murphy in a fright wig and Scarlett Johansson in a bonnet

Judy Parfitt as Vermeer's mother-in-law and Tom Wilkinson as his lecherous patron were spot on however. So, I can still recommend watching it to learn about Vermeer and his amazing works, of which only 34 now survive. And watch it because it is gorgeous and sumptuous in it's scenery, costumes and cinematography.

Sumptuous and colourful, this could also be a painting!

And now on to Marie Antoinette. Filmed almost entirely in France (and director Sofia Coppola even got permission to film in the Palace of Versailles!) there is no doubt that this film is one of the most visually pleasing I have ever seen. That alone is reason to watch it. Eye candy is probably the most often used term to describe Marie Antoinette.

Not surprising that they were guillotined by the poor starving peasants!

There is a lot of great historical content in this film too and although not perfectly correct, it is probably closer to the truth than most bio pics. So what was it that bugged me about this film? Was it the weird mix of accents, from American to British to French (real and faked)?

OK, the costumes alone make the film worth watching

If I compare it to Shakespeare in Love, which is one of my absolute "can't do without" films, there is just a lack of heart and soul to the film. I just didn't care whether they got their heads chopped off at the end. And that is never a good sign in a film...

Mmmmmmm.....Marie Antoinette shoes from the film. Manolo Blahnik made hundreds....

So watch this film for the costumes, the shoes, the food, the scenery, the furniture and even the history....just don't watch it to be swept away by the story.