Every so often I browse my recommendations on Amazon, and come across films I have never heard of. That happened earlier in the year when it suggested I might like ‘Hampstead’. Diane Keaton stars, and I have liked some of her other films. The reviews were mostly positive, so I put it on my wishlist and was given it for my recent birthday.
There seems to have been quite a spate of films about middle-aged or elderly people in recent years. Or perhaps it’s just that I’m seeing them because I have liked or bought others. On the whole we like them, as we’re in that stage of life, and this was quite a positive one on the whole.
Keaton stars as the recently-widowed Emily who lives in a pleasant block of flats in Hampstead in the UK. She’s a bit of a misfit; the only American, in the area, although she has evidently lived there for many years. The other upper-middle class very British women in the building try to involve her in their community meetings and campaigns, but she’s not really all that interested. Nor does she want them to introduce her to suitable gentlemen friends…
Wandering around the neighbourhood she comes across a shack where it’s rumoured an old tramp lives. And indeed, when we first meet Donald (Brendon Gleeson) he’s just received a letter from the council, asking him to leave. He has a flourishing garden and isn’t doing anything wrong… but he looks like a down-and-out.
So the main part of the story is about these two misfits meeting, irritating each other, becoming unlikely friends, and learning surprising things about each other. It’s also about a battle to save Donald’s home, one which catches the imagination of the local people and gets quite out of hand. At a deeper level it’s about pride, and independence, and the importance of accepting help sometimes. It’s also about being free to be oneself, to flout conventions, to move beyond the strict confines of society’s expectations.
Diane Keaton’s role is not very different from other parts I’ve seen her in, but she does it very well and her personality fits that of Emily ideally. I didn’t remember seeing Brendon Gleeson anywhere else; he is wonderful in his role, and there’s quite an onscreen chemistry between the two. Other characters are somewhat caricatured in their enthusiastic snobbery or downright unpleasantness, but that allows for some comic moments; the pace is excellent, I thought, and the whole well scripted and beautifully made.
Sometimes I didn’t catch all the conversation. It wasn’t that Keaton’s accent is hard to understand but there was quite a lot of muttering. Perhaps that was intended, so as to give the impression of conversation rather than any important dialogue. I don’t think I missed anything.
The rating is 12, which we thought about right. There’s a fair amount of bad language, although I don’t recall anything else that would make it unsuitable for children; there's a love story but it involves implications rather than anything explicit. However it’s unlikely to be of much interest to anyone below the age of about thirty. Overall we enjoyed it very much.
Apparently this film is based on a true story, but we decided not to watch the extras so don’t know any details.
Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews
We very much enjoyed the film ‘Nativity’ (starring Martin Freeman) about eighteen months ago. It’s schmalzy, and quite silly in places, but it's quite amusing, the children are great, and it has a wonderful feel-good ending. We thought it would make excellent seasonal family viewing.
When I saw that the sequel, ‘Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger’ starred David Tennant, it was the work of a moment to add it to my wishlist, despite a very mixed bunch of reviews on Amazon. I received it for Christmas and we watched it with our adult sons and daughter-in-law...
Unfortunately, it was nowhere near as good as the first film. In the original, the harassed class teacher has to come up with a Christmas concert. The school pulls together, the Head is behind him, and the slapstick is mostly caused by his rivalry with a snooty private school nearby. There's a plot, there's development, there's a happy (if schmalzy) ending.
In this film Tennant plays Mr Peterson, the new class teacher. The plot is much more unlikely - and, at times, decidedly worrying. Mr Poppy (Mark Wootton), the irritatingly juvenile classroom assistant, is still around, and this time has been urging the children to audition for a national singing competition in Wales. The school Head has vetoed it, but this does not stop him from egging the children on, and writing a song for them. However there's no real reason for anything, no tension, no story as such. And far too much of Mr Poppy, who only has his job because he's the Head's nephew.
The story then gets sillier (and more worrying still, from a child protection point of view) when the class, unauthorised by the Head, and unknown to their parents, set off for the competition in an extremely odd bus driven by Mr Poppy. Mr Peterson is kidnapped as he tries to stop them, and panics about his wife, who might give birth at any moment...
We were getting annoyed and irritated by the first hour or so of this film, which was not humorous and made little sense. Then we become rather confused when the scene kept switching from the competition - already getting started, in the evening - to the class, staggering across rough ground, up steep hills, down ropes, accompanied by a baby and a donkey… in broad daylight. Without any food or drink, as far as we could see, wearing their costumes, but not getting dirty.
But we kept watching. I'm not entirely sure why. But finally we were rewarded: the last half hour was a great deal better. We very much enjoyed David Tennant playing a dual role superbly; we also quite liked the other choirs singing and dancing (although some of the implications of lyrics were not 'U' rated in my view). It made no sense that the starring school, despite their traumatic journey, and apparently no real rehearsals, absolutely stole the show. But then, we knew that was going to happen - and they did it very well, on the whole.
We also liked the unexpectedly warm (if schmalzy and clichéd) ending that brought the real meaning of Christmas back into focus, albeit briefly.
But I'd rather have re-watched the original; this one is a poor imitation and I wouldn't really recommend it.
Review copyright 2014 Sue's DVD Reviews
Yes, it’s July.
But our son gets fed up of Christmas films and songs in December, so we decided to watch this highly rated movie last night. Perhaps, we thought, it might detract a little from the heat and humidity that plagued us...
It’s the story of a struggling Catholic school where Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) is a frustrated and often irritable teacher of small children. Once upon a time he went through a drama course, appearing on stage as an elf, and in a serious relationship with the beautiful Jennifer (Ashley Jensen). But then she went to the US in the hope of becoming a Hollywood producer, and so Paul decided to become a teacher. He also determined that he would never enjoy Christmas again.
So he’s not at all happy when his school Head (Pam Ferris) decides that he will be in charge of the school Nativity play that term. To make it worse, Paul’s old college friend Gordon (Jason Watkins) is a teacher at a local private school, where he gets rave reviews each year for his Nativity plays. And while Gordon isn’t exactly a villain, he’s rather snooty about Paul’s school and his chances. So Paul, thoroughly provoked, pretends that Jennifer will be bringing a Hollywood crew to see his school play. he doesn’t mention that he lost touch with Jennifer some years previously.
He doesn’t really suppose that Gordon will believe him, or that anything will come of his remarks, but unfortunately they’re overheard by Mr Poppy (Marc Wootten) who is Paul’s new classroom assistant. Not a normal quiet helper, he’s like a big kid himself, joining in with the children with great enthusiasm, and trusting everything he’s told. So he passes on the ‘news’ to the school Head (his aunt)... and the press get involved... and the silly lie gets more and more out of hand.
Most of the play is about Paul’s attempts to produce a Nativity play - or, rather, a musical - using children with little or no experience. And it works remarkably well. I don’t mean that he eventually produces a wonderful extravaganza - that’s pretty much taken as read, with a family Christmas film. But the children themselves are an absolute delight.
We wondered how stage schools managed to produce such natural kiddies - and learned, when we watched one of the ‘extras’, that these were not stage school children, but ordinary ones, since the director wanted them to be natural. And that’s exactly what they are, although apparently the audition process took many months.
The film - as we also learned from the extras - was not closely scripted. Much of it was improvised, which probably explains why it really does feel like a typical British primary school, with a bunch of very ordinary children who, when gently pushed, do some fairly extraordinary things.
There are humorous scenes, one or two moving scenes, and a wonderfully schmaltzy ending which we had pretty much foreseen, although not entirely so. The whole is rated U (or G in the US), meaning that it’s entirely suitable for young children; certainly there’s no violence or bad language, and the romance, such as it is, consists of a few kisses and a little sliding about in snow.
There are some great performances by the children - they are all stars, and I hope that at least some of them have continued with their drama careers. The adults all play their parts well, with caricatures, admittedly - Paul Maddens is really very irritable, and Desmond Poppy so very boisterous - but it all works, and makes for a totally captivating hour and a half. Even if we did see it in July!
The extras - deleted scenes, interviews and ‘making of’ - are well worth seeing too.
Wonderful stuff. Don’t expect any depth of plot (although the point about a small lie growing out of control is well made) or character, or even any great surprises. Watch with your children or grandchildren, or perhaps your grandparents... and have a good clean laugh, and the satisfaction of a fairytale ending.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
