The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel, in model miniature

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a wonderful Wes Anderson film. If you are a fan of Wes Anderson then you likely already have this on your radar to see soon, if you haven't already. If you don't know Wes Anderson, well, how do I describe him to you?

Wes Anderson in his director's chair

A creative worldly dynamo from Texas, he loves to create entire worlds for his films, being the writer, director and producer for most of them, TGBH included. I think Moonrise Kingdom is still my fave film of his but this one is a very close second. Stylistic, funny and dark...you will not be bored during one of his films!

Gustave H and lobby boy Zero

Ralph Fiennes lives it up as a very hammy concierge (Gustave H.) of a fictional hotel between the wars in a fictional Eastern European country with his sidekick Zero Moustafa (played by brilliant newcomer Tony Revolori).

Told as a story within a story, we hear the tale through a dinner conversation between the now grown lobby boy (F.Murray Abraham as the adult Zero) and a guest at the now run down hotel (Jude Law as "Young Writer").

It would seem Anderson has no problem enticing big name stars who love offbeat films. Saoirse Ronan as Zero's love interest and Tilda Swinton as one of Gustave H's elderly female guests are just a few of the names you may recognize. Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe...the list goes on and on!

So I will end with the official trailer and let you decide if it is something you want to see. Personally, I am still smiling! The Squire just looked over my shoulder as I played the trailer and said "That film was entertaining but different." I will leave it at that. :)

The Invisible Woman

The Invisible Woman has been on my TBW list for a while now, and I finally got to see it in a tiny art house theatre on a frigid Canadian Saturday night. I was in just the right mood for this meandering stylish film. I have to preface this by saying that I am an appreciative reader of Dickens and I had just finished Claire Tomalin's book the night before, on which the screenplay was based. In case you have never heard of said invisible woman, Ellen (Nelly) Ternan was the young actress with whom Charles Dickens had a long affair over the last decade or so of his life.

So we find that Mr. Dickens has feet of clay after all. This is a story as old as humanity. A powerful middle aged male finds himself attracted to a girl less than half his age and ends up separating from his wife and acting on his urges. Except in this case Dickens was a national treasure in England, and a champion of Victorian family values.

The casting of Ralph Fiennes as Dickens turns out to be quite brilliant. A randy old ham playing a randy old ham. Perfect! And Felicity Jones is an amazing talent and gives us a peek into Nelly Ternan, conflicted and flattered and desperately in need of a protector.

All of the supporting cast are wonderful, from Kristin Scott Thomas as Nelly's similarly conflicted mother, to Tom Hollander as a heavily bearded Wilkie Collins, to Joanna Scanlan baring body and soul as Catherine Dickens.

Kudos to Ralph Fiennes as director for not painting anyone in this story as the "bad guy". This story is a tragedy but without a villain.

So if this sounds good to you then go ahead and enjoy it. But don't drag anyone who wouldn't appreciate the slow pace or anyone without even a remote interest in Dickens. Here is the trailer if you haven't seen it:

Enjoy!

Saving Mr. Banks and other must see films!

There are a few films on my list to see (hopefully over the holidays) which I will blog about later, but I thought I would let you know what looks good so you can see them before I do!

You have likely seen some of the promos for Saving Mr. Banks with Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. If you are a sentimental fool like I am, you will be counting the days until you see the story of how Walt Disney convinced P.L. Travers to let him bring Mary Poppins to the silver screen. I love the title, which refers to how the book Mary Poppins is about rescuing Mr. Banks (and Mrs. Banks for that matter) not the children. I have loved the Disney film from when I was young and my eldest child (now 22 years old) used to pretend he was a chimney sweep and dance around the house when he was 2 or 3. I think I may take him to see this one!

I am looking forward to seeing Philomena just as much as Saving Mr. Banks. Apparently Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are both at their level best in this dramedy about an elderly Irish woman who goes to America with the help of a journalist to look for the boy she unwillingly "gave up for adoption" after a stay at a 1950s Catholic home for fallen women. Apparently it is Stephen Frears' best film since The Queen.

I can't wait.

Although I am not a huge Ralph Fiennes fan, I have a lot of respect for his acting and that he is such a fan of Charles Dickens that he wanted to bring The Invisible Woman, the story of Dickens' mistress Nelly Ternan to the screen. The fact that the middle aged Dickens abandoned his wife and 10 children for an 18 year old actress...well that much is history and we might as well have a great film out of it. Felicity Jones plays the titular role (I have loved her since Northanger Abbey) and a few names like Tom Hollander and Kristin Scott Thomas sound good too!

Well, a few others are on my list such as August: Osage County, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Book Thief and American Hustle.

And don't forget that Season 4 of Downton Abbey starts Sunday January 5th! PBS is having a draw for a trip to England to mark the event!

Great Expectations 2011/2012: Battle of the Miss Havishams

Great Expectations 2011- 3 part miniseries with Gillian Anderson

Released Christmas 2011 in the UK, this gorgeously filmed television miniseries in 3 one hour long installments was quite well received by the British public for the most part. We in North America get to watch this one on PBS over 2 Sunday nights in April (April 1st and 8th).

Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham: Great Expectations 2011

The wondrous Gillian Anderson (whose Lady Deadlock from Bleak House 2005 stays with me yet) has been cast as the youngest looking Miss Havisham ever. If anyone can pull this off, I'm betting on her. However, one wonders with a Pip as beautiful looking as Douglas Booth, why doesn't she just tidy up the place, throw on a new frock and go after Pip herself? Sorry...Great Expectations, not Cougar Town!

The incredibly gorgeous Douglas Booth as adult Pip

What do you think of our young hero ladies? No wonder Douglas Booth is being heralded as a teen heart throb in the UK. Maybe he can get a whole new generation of females to read Dickens, which is never a bad thing!

Oscar Kennedy as young Pip in Great Expectations 2011

As seen in the photo above, the cinematography is breathtaking so I would watch it for this alone, but apparently David Suchet's Jaggers is pretty impressive too.

Estella and Pip dancing in Great Expectations 2012

This is something for us to look forward to when we are waiting for spring and a good way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham Great Expectations 2012

And if that wasn't exciting enough for Dickens's 200th Birthday, there is a theatrical release scheduled for sometime later in the year of yet another adaptation of Great Expectations. I'm holding my breath on this one, as it is a big story to squeeze into a 2 hour film. On the other hand, with Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and Ralph Fiennes as Magwich, it has a certain appeal already. Add to that director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and various Harry Potters) and Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) as Pip and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) as Jaggers and you have my attention. Fingers crossed on this one friends!

The Duchess 2008 with Kiera Knightley

The Duchess 2008

The Duchess is one film I am glad to own. Having read the book about the remarkable Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire I really enjoyed the silver screen version of her life. The costumes and locations alone would make this worth watching, but the tragic story of the vivacious teenager married off to a cold fish 10 years older is enthralling. It was marketed as a similar story to Princess Diana, who was her great-great-great-great niece and I must say, the Spencer family have some pretty amazing women. Georgiana was also the great-great-great-great-grandmother of Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York via her illegitimate love child, Eliza Courtney. What a story, huh? You can't write this stuff!

Kiera Knightley and Ralph Fiennes as the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire

I like both Kiera Knightley and Ralph Fiennes but I wouldn't call myself a fan of either one. However, they both do an amazing job here as the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. If there was ever an illustration of the saying "money can't buy happiness" this story would be it! I think the servants looked happier than this pair.

Domenic Cooper as Charles Grey (The future Earl Grey as in Earl Grey tea!)

The chemistry between Kiera Knightley and Domenic Cooper as politician Charles Grey is electric. So is the chemistry between Kiera Knightley and Hayley Atwell as Bess Foster for that matter! This is certainly a different tale than Pride and Prejudice, which was the other film Kiera Knightley did at Chatsworth in Derbyshire England. Real life doesn't have the happy ending that novels do however.

The famous fox outfit based on historical records from the Charles Fox Whig campaign

The costumes are breathtaking. Georgiana was the Princess Di or Kate Middleton of her day. All eyes were on her for style and she may reasonably be called the first "celebrity", followed by media wherever she went. There is a great scene where the "paparazzi" of the day are furiously sketching her outfit before she disappeared into a social event.
 

Charlotte Rampling as Georgaina's mother Lady Spencer

Charlotte Rampling is luminous as Lady Spencer, Georgiana's slightly scary mother. Not warm and fuzzy but very believable.

Hayley Atwell as Elizabeth Foster or Bess, the third person in the marriage

Hayley Atwell gives a wonderful performance as Lady Elizabeth Foster, the third person in the marriage. Starting out as Georgiana's friend, she ends up right in the middle of the marriage! Highly unusual, even for the times methinks.

The Duchess and Charlotte, the Duke's illegitimate daughter on the grounds of Chatsworth

Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: There are limits to the sacrifices one makes for one's children.
Bess Foster: No, there aren't. No limits whatsoever.

"When she arrives, all eyes are upon her. When absent, she is the subject of universal conversation. And what we see her wearing tonight, I look forward to seeing the rest of you wearing tomorrow!" 

Georgiana Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire

If there is a fault to be found with this film, it would be that it romanticizes the Duchess and her faults. Her gambling is glossed over, whereas in real life it dominated her entire life. Her friends would avoid her so as not to be asked for money to pay her debts. And yet, of course, we want the romanticized version on screen, don't we? But she was an amazing woman...more amazing than can ever be shown in 110 minutes.

Having just re-watched this last night, I can wholeheartedly recommend this for an evening's entertainment. Especially if you don't mind a good cry at the end.