Winter Solstice (Sinéad Cusack)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s six years since we watched the 2003 film ‘Winter Solstice’, based on Rosamunde Pilcher’s novel with the same title. I recalled the storyline fairly well, and also that it was quite an absorbing film, originally made for television. We count it as a Christmas one, even though it’s only towards the end of the movie that Christmas takes place.

The main character is Elfrida (Sinéad Cusack). She has recently lost the man she has lived with for fifteen years. Unfortunately for her, he was a risk-taker who left no insurance, and a large amount of debt. So she has to sell the house they have lived in, and - she hopes - find a job. Her age isn’t given but she must be somewhere between forty-five and fifty-five. She used to be an actor, and hopes to get back into that field.

Initially, after the house sale, she goes to stay with her good friend Didi (Marsha Fitzalan). Didi has two daughters: twenty-five-year-old Carrie (Sophie Schütt) and fifteen-year-old Lucy (Anna Maguire). Carrie lives abroad, so Elfrida is staying in her room… Didi is recently divorced, but can’t survive without a man. 

We then see Carrie with her boyfriend, who is promising to love her forever.  She gets a sudden shock, and her world is turned upside down. She gets on a plane and heads for home. 

We also meet Sam (Jason Durr) who is an accountant for a large business organisation. He is going to have to travel to the north of Scotland to close down a business that employs about a hundred people. He happens to sit next to Carrie on a plane, but she ignores him, deep in her misery. 

Elfrida goes to stay for a while in her lawyer’s holiday cottage, and gets to know her neighbours: Oscar (Jan Niklas), his wife Gloria (Geraldine Chaplin) and their delightful daughter Francesca (Emilia Streets) who is twelve. Then she manages to get an interview with her former agent so she rushes off to London… and while she’s away, a terrible tragedy happens. I knew it was coming, and still had to look away. It’s the worst part of the film (and the book, though it happens a bit differently in the book). 

The main part of the film takes place when five of these characters are heading towards an estate house in Scotland, which is half owned by Oscar, and half by Sam’s godfather. There’s some confusion at first (and a massive coincidence that this house has lain empty for a while and is suddenly occupied by so many at the same time. But Rosamunde Pilcher did tend to include this kind of situation in her novels). 

It’s a character-based film, like the book, although there are several subplots. I last read the book ‘Winter Solstice’ in 2018, so I was quite hazy on some of the details. I know that Carrie was Lucy’s aunt in the book, rather than her sister, and that Elfrida was rather older - comfortably retired, rather than penniless. But the basic outline and ideas are much the same. It doesn’t matter. Films and books are different media, and I’m not one who wants every detail to match. 

The scenery is gorgeous, the pace just right for our tastes. Elfrida, we thought, was perfectly cast, as was Lucy who manages to be a moody, sometimes angry teenager to perfection. Oscar is less believable; he and Elfrida have a good chemistry but he seems to get over his terrible tragedy to some extent rather rapidly. Others are more minor, and are sufficiently realistic that I was totally caught up in the story. 

It’s a couple of hours, so longer than most modern films, but felt like exactly the right length. There’s a bit of humour - particularly involving the delightful countess who appears towards the end of the film although it’s low-key and doesn’t detract from the poignancy and light romance of the story.  

The ending, if somewhat predictable and open-ended, is encouraging for all concerned. Since this film was made for TV it doesn't have a UK rating, but I would expect PG or possibly 12, since there are a couple of scenes of people in bed after what was clearly a night of intimacy. There is also some minor violence when a fight erupts, and some bad language, though nothing too extreme. It's not likely to be of interest to anyone younger than about twelve anyway. 

Definitely recommended if you like a gentle, sometimes moving film that’s lightly Christmassy at the end. I still prefer the book, however.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Nativity 2: danger in the manger (David Tennant)

(Amazon UK link)

We have over thirty Christmas DVDs, and we like to see at least four or five of them each Christmas season. I pulled out the ones we hadn’t yet seen, or hadn’t seen in a while, and my husband selected ‘Nativity 2: danger in the manger’. We saw this film in December 2014, and I recalled being somewhat unimpressed at the time. It didn’t seem like a worthy sequel to ‘Nativity’, which we thought excellent.

However, we’ve been watching season two of Doctor Who, with David Tennant in the title role. So we thought it might be amusing to see him in the rather different role of classroom teacher in ‘Nativity 2’. And I was interested to see whether I would find it better or worse than I did ten years ago. 

The film opens to a domestic scene. David Tennant plays a young man called Donald Peterson who has just moved house and has a new job. His wife Sarah (Joanna Page) is expecting their first baby. He’s a bit concerned about the school where he’s going to work, but says that the head seems very pleasant, and she has assured him that the children are well-behaved.

The action then moves to the classroom, where Mr Poppy (Marc Wootten), the classroom assistant, is in charge. There have been several teachers replacing the excellent Mr Maddens and we see brief cameos as each one comes into conflict with one or other of Mr Poppy’s wild ideas. The children adore Mr Poppy, but he’s like an overgrown four-year-old and has no concept of boundaries, or of education. He only has the job because the headmistress (Pam Ferris) is his aunt. 

Clearly Mr Poppy should not have the job, despite his relationship to the head. Whereas we found him somewhat amusing in the first Nativity film, he is somewhat irritating in this one. He encourages the children to think they can take part (and win) a singing competition, despite lack of talent, and little time to rehearse. The head refuses permission but Mr Poppy goes ahead and applies. Then, when the day comes for the contest, he uses sneaky methods to get the children away - kidnapping Mr Peterson at the last moment, to accompany them.

The journey to Wales is fraught with mishaps, as might be expected. And it starts to delve into silliness as the ridiculous bus turns into a boat which then runs out of fuel, and the children have to embark on a long walk. Mr Poppy urges them to hurry at times, and insists they take breaks at others. The distance is shown as extremely long, and some of the children have to be carried. But most of them make it without seeming at all tired, and they’re somehow ready to perform when they eventually arrive.

There are some amusing scenes in this film. David Tennant is excellent in his role, so much so that we didn’t even think of him as the Doctor. He is an excellent actor who becomes the person he’s portraying - and we thought of him during this film as the young, rather apprehensive Mr Peterson. At least, we did until the appearance of Donald’s twin brother Roderick, a high-flying and very snooty choirmaster who  also has a competing group. 

They have not spoken to each other in years, and Donald has felt like a failure as their father (Ian McNiece) always favoured Roderick. David Tennant plays Roderick brilliantly, a tad caricatured (but then that's the nature of the film). Moreover, he does this so differently from the way he plays Donald that I sometimes forgot, for a moment, that the same actor was playing both brothers. 

In the last half hour or so of the film we get to see the other acts that are competing, performing their song and dance routines. A couple of them are (deliberately, we assume) pretty bad - twee, schmaltzy and with costumes in bad taste, although the singing and dancing as such is mostly good. Roderick expects to win with his highly trained boys’ choir, dressed as church choristers, and he isn’t averse to a bit of cheating…

And yet, despite the surreal nature of a lot of the film, it’s very well done. The pace is good, the timing is great, and the conversation - most of it improvised rather than scripted - realistic. The humour is somewhat slapstick, but we smiled several times and laughed once or twice. And the finale - which we had completely forgotten, after the concert - is moving, and encouraging, sharing (in a low-key way) the real meaning of Christmas. 

So despite the complete lack of compliance with safeguarding laws, with the head and parents having no idea where the children are, and the annoying nature of Mr Poppy, I liked it rather more than I did last time. David Tennant’s brilliance means I would recommend it on the whole and expect to watch it again in a few years time.  The rating is U which seems about right, although I don't suppose that very young children would find much to interest them in this film. 

There are a couple of extras, including some deleted scenes, on our DVD, which we thought well worth seeing after watching the film. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

How about you? (Hayley Attwell)

(Amazon UK link)

December is here, so I pulled out our Christmas DVD collection. We have about thirty of them, currently; if we watch five each year that means we can see each one around once every six years. I usually like leaving at least five years before re-watching a film, unless it’s exceptional.

We saw ‘How about you?’ almost eight years ago in February 2017, rather later than the Christmas period. I recalled quite liking it, and also that it was loosely based on a short story by Maeve Binchy. My husband didn’t remember it at all.

Hayley Attwell stars as Ellie, a young woman who needs a job. She turns up at the care home for the elderly run by her sister Kate (Orla Brady), asking to work there. Kate is dubious: Ellie has a history of being irresponsible and causing problems by her outspokenness. But Ellie pleads, and Kate gives in.

One of the first residents whom Ellie gets to know is Alice (Joan O’Hara) who is frail, in some pain, and aware that she is dying. Alice feels hemmed in by her nurse, and wants the freedom to go out and about in her wheelchair. Ellie agrees to do this, and also to acquire some cannabis to ease Alice’s pain… but when Kate discovers it, she is furious. It could lead to the home being closed. It’s already lost some staff and several residents, mainly due to the bad behaviour of four of them.

These four are Georgia (Vanessa Redgrave), Donald (Joss Ackland), and two sisters called Hazel (Imelda Staunton) and Heather (Brenda Fricker). Georgia is a former stage star who hankers after her youth, and drinks too much. Donald is a supposedly reformed alcoholic who was widowed a couple of years earlier. Hazel is an artist who is over-protected by Heather. All four are rude, argumentative and demanding.

By the time the film was half-way through I was wondering why I had put it in our Christmas collection, but then, in the last half-hour or so, Christmas approaches. Most of the residents are collected by family members to be taken to their homes for a week or so. Ellie is eager to take a break, and only Kate will remain, to look after the four difficult residents who have nowhere else to go.

Then a crisis occurs, and Kate has to leave. So Ellie is in charge… she promises to behave, but becomes increasingly exhausted and stressed by the incessant demands of these angry people. She finally loses her temper and lets them know what she thinks of them. She also tells them that the home will probably be closed due to their attitudes and behaviour…

But it’s a Christmas feel-good film, so inevitably the four difficult residents are brought to their senses and decide to get along. Not that they are perfect by any means, and there are more difficulties for Ellie as she tries to treat them as a family. Then there’s always the worry of a health and safety officer arriving, since Ellie has no qualifications and leaving the residents in her care is not legal.

There are moments of humour in this film which, on the whole, is light-hearted, even though it includes some more serious issues. The acting is good, as one would expect with an all-star cast. It has just the right balance of poignancy and lightness, in my view.

There are some lovely Christmas scenes with amazing food, beautiful table layouts, and more, and while the ending is perhaps a bit predictable, it was very enjoyable to watch. The whole film is beautifully done, and we were totally engrossed. It’s not long - just under 90 minutes - and there are no extras on our DVD. But it made a good start to the Christmas season.

The rating is 15 which surprised me a bit, as there are only mild sexual references - no nudity or anything explicit - and no violence. But there are several instances of strong language, and the drugs… so that’s why it has such a high rating. I doubt if children or young teens would be interested anyway in a film about elderly folk in a care home.

But if you want a well-made, thoughtful film with a pleasantly Christmassy ending, I would recommend ‘How about you’.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

A man called Otto (Tom Hanks)

(Amazon UK link)

A few months ago I read and very much liked the book ‘A man called Ove’, by Fredrik Backman. I already knew that there was a film based on the book, and had put it on my wishlist. I received ‘A man called Otto’ for my birthday, a few months before reading the book. But we hadn’t got around to watching it until last night. 

I was aware that Tom Hanks played the title role in the film. When I read the book, I imagined him in the part, and thought he was perfect for it. I don’t know why the title character’s name was changed from Ove to Otto, but it wasn’t a big deal. And while the book is set in a small town in Sweden, the film is set in a small town in the United States. There are other changes, too, which irritate some fans of the book. But they didn’t worry me. 

The film opens when Otto is trying to buy some rope, arguing with the sales assistant about the cost. It’s a good way to portray his extreme pedantry and precision of outlook. He is a very organised, controlled person who likes to follow the same routine every day. And as I expected, Tom Hanks is wonderful in this role. He is exactly as I had imagined Otto. 

After his purchases, we see him patrolling the grounds of the complex where he lives. He checks that the recycling bins are used correctly (and moves items placed in the wrong ones). And he gets into an angry debate with a delivery van who has - in Otto’s mind - trespassed by driving onto their private road without a permit. 

There are some new neighbours trying to move in. In the book they are a Persian family, but in the film they’re Mexican. But they are similar in outlook - very open-hearted, generous, and expecting everyone to be friendly. The wife, Marisol (Mariana Treviño) loves to bake, and regularly takes things to Otto. She has two children and is heavily pregnant. Her husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is kind, a bit naive and not all that bright. 

In the book there are a lot of neighbours - too many for me to keep track of. In the film, the only ones we get to know somewhat are Jimmy, who likes to keep fit; Malcolm, a teenager who first irritates Otto by leaving his bicycle in the wrong place, and an older couple, Anita and Reuben, who used to be close to Otto and his wife. But Reuben has some form of dementia, and Anita isn’t well either. Oh, and there’s also a woman with a dog who clashes regularly with Otto… and there’s a cat who won’t go away. 

The story itself is not one that would normally be thought of as suitable for a light novel or film. Otto does not want to live any longer. He’s recently retired, and as we quite quickly learn in the film, his beloved wife died within the past year. It takes much longer for this to be obvious in the book, which is quite complicated in places with flashbacks. 

The film makes it much clearer - the only flashbacks are the ones in which we learn about Otto’s relationship with Sonia (Rachel Keller). I thought they were very well done, with a younger man in Otto’s role. Truman Hanks is apparently Tom Hanks’ son, which is perhaps why he feels right for this part, despite not looking all that similar. 

During the course of the film, Otto attempts more than once to end his life. It could have been traumatic, but each time something happens - either the attempts fails, or he’s interrupted with something else. He can’t avoid answering doors, or helping people when they’re in trouble. Despite his grumpy, rigid attitudes, he’s altruistic and caring deep down. 

It’s character-based, and inevitably in an hour and a half can’t cover everything from a full-length novel. We don’t see much of Otto’s childhood, for one thing, or how he started work. But I thought that, overall, it was extremely well-done. There’s humour - often in Tom Hanks’ perfect timing of a remark - and light-heartedness in the joy of the Mexican family. There are also some deeper issues touched on: the role of the state in deciding where elderly folk should live, for instance, and how to relate to a transgender person. They’re done sensitively, and leave much to think about.

The pace is just right, the acting excellent, albeit caricatured (deliberately) in some cases. The ending is poignant, and yet there’s no other ending that would have worked. And it leads to positive changes in the lifestyle and expectations of others. 

The rating is 15 in the UK (PG-13 in the United States) which reflects the nature of the film rather than anything specific. There’s nothing remotely sexual, and only mild bad language. There’s some mild gore, but nothing gratuitous, and Otto’s first attempt at taking his life is quite traumatic, so it’s not a film I’d want a child to see, or a sensitive or depressed teenager. Nor would it be appropriate for anyone likely to be negatively triggered by a story about someone who wants to kill himself.

But, with those provisos, we thought it a very good film. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Heidi (Emma Bolger)

(Amazon UK link)

As a child I loved the book ‘Heidi’, which I had initially in abridged form. It’s the classic story of an orphaned girl who is sent to live with her hermit-like grandfather who lives high in the Swiss alps. Grandfather is rather spurned by the people of the local village, who fear him due to some damaging rumours. 

Heidi is lively and friendly, and her grandfather, despite his rather dour appearance, becomes very fond of her. She loves the simple life in the mountains and befriends Peter, the goatherd, who is the son of their nearest neighbours. When her aunt appears to take Heidi into the town to work as a companion to a wealthy disabled girl, Clara, Heidi is heartbroken… 

It’s a delightful story, one which I think I should read again some time soon. We watched the 2005 film adaptation on DVD over twelve years ago, and decided to watch it again last night. And it sticks pretty closely to the original story. The scenery is stunning, and given that it’s not a long film (not much over an hour and a half) it packs in plenty without adding anything unnecessary. The pace is good, and we were both engrossed in the story. 

But we were both disappointed by the three main child actors. We weren’t sure if they were over-directed, or if they weren’t involved enough in the story to be really believable. Emma Bolger plays nine-year-old Heidi, and she does it as an enthusiastic, animated child. She has a slight Irish accent, which is a little weird, but I quickly got used to that. However she shows little emotion at the more poignant times. When she has to wait (more than once) outside her grandfather’s chalet, she doesn’t look at all anxious or afraid. When she’s supposedly crying, there are no tears - just some artificial-sounding sniffs. When she’s tossing and turning in bed, it doesn’t look real at all. 

Worse is Clara (Jessica Claridge), who comes across as likeable but rather twee, as if she’s repeating her lines rather than acting. And although Peter is more believable, he seems much too clean to be a believable goatherd. And his jealousy of Clara, later in the film, is not really explored at all and doesn’t seem to fit with what we see of his character in the earlier scenes. 

However, I thought that Heidi’s grandfather (Max von Sydow) was excellent. I could believe in him entirely as a lonely, irritable old man whose heart is softened by his lively granddaughter. I wasn’t sure why he seemed so old - he could have passed for eighty, which seems to me the age of a great-grandfather to a nine-year-old girl. But that wasn’t a huge issue and only occurred to me towards the end. 

Diana Rigg is also very well cast as Clara’s grandmama. She comes across as a delightful, realistic woman who looks as if she’s in her late sixties. She’s kind and understanding, and quite lively too.  And I liked Sebastian (Del Synott), the servant in Clara’s household, who befriends Heidi. His face is very expressive at times, as he attempts to be discreet and almost invisible serving at table, but also reacts to Heidi’s liveliness and naivete. There are one or two quite amusing scenes involving Sebastian, where his facial expressions made us chuckle. 

There are two obviously caricatured adult characters in the film. Pauline McLynn plays Heidi’s strict, penny-pinching aunt, and Geraldine Chaplin is the appalling Miss Rottenmeier, who for some reason is employed as housekeeper at the house where Clare lives. Neither is supposed to be liked, and the exaggerated nastiness is a good ploy in a children’s film, so that - hopefully - they’re not taken too seriously, and therefore won’t provoke nightmares.

It’s a story about families, and friendship; about loyalty and the importance of looking out for other people.  Despite the rather wooden acting of the younger people, I would recommend it, on the whole. The rating is U, and that reflects the wholesome story with a lack of anything that would merit a stricter rate. I don’t think it would be of much interest to anyone younger than about seven or eight, but for older children and teens (and adults who loved the book as children) it’s a good adaptation. 

Our DVD doesn’t have any extras. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews