If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people.
We are coming close to … Disclosure Day.
Universal Pictures is proud to release a new original event film created and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).
From Spielberg’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, to E.T, to WAR OF THE WORLDS, check out this first look at his latest film and see DISCLOSURE DAY in theaters 06.12.26.
Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for this 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth.
DISCLOSURE DAY is produced by five-time Academy Award® nominee Kristie Macosko Krieger (The Fabelmans, West Side Story) and by Spielberg for Amblin Entertainment. The executive producers are Adam Somner and Chris Brigham.
Director Steven Spielberg on the set of DISCLOSURE DAY.
Steven Spielberg is one of the industry’s most successful and influential filmmakers. The top-grossing director of all time, Spielberg has helmed such blockbusters as Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones franchise and Jurassic Park.
Among his myriad honors, he is a three-time Academy Award® winner, including Oscars® for Best Director and Best Picture for Schindler’s List, which received a total of seven Oscars®, and for Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. His most recent film, The Fabelmans, was released by Universal in 2022 and received seven Academy Award® nominations, including for Directing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Picture.
So could an underlying theme connect several film releases over the past year? Quite possibly, as this new work arrives right between two works that embrace the nostalgia of cinema itself. A few weeks ago, audiences got a glimpse into the early inspirations of one of our most celebrated filmmakers in THE FABELMANS, which reflected on the artist’s influences from the early 1950s into the next decade. And in a week we’ll get another director’s look back into the late 1920s and early 1930s when Hollywood was thought of as a modern-day BABYLON. Now, this drama jumps ahead in time from both, as it takes place during the early 1980s, just a few years before another blockbuster that would spawn a sequel this year. Another big difference is that this new flick is more about the finished products rather than the making of the movies. In fact, it’s about a movie palace that showcased them, a towering EMPIRE OF LIGHT.
That theatre is really called the Empire, and in 1981 it’s the jewel of the seaside boardwalk in Margate, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent catering to many Brits on “holiday’ along with throngs of “locals”. The staff is mostly comprised of college-aged teens looking for a job before their big careers. But for two workers there it’s almost become their “legacy”. High above the “broom-pushers” and “popcorn-fillers” is the aloof prickly projectionist Norman (Toby Jones), but keeping the guests happy is long-timer/co-ordinator Hilary (Olivia Colman). Unfortunately she’s also “tasked” with keeping her boss “happy” as she becomes a sexual plaything for the theatre’s married manager/director Mr. Ellis (Colin Firth). Hilary never complains as she spends her days shuffling from the theatre to her lonely apartment. And then her routine changes when she meets the newest “hire”, a sensitive and smart young man named Stephan (Michael Ward). With the changing social and political climate, the small-town thugs and “skinheads” place a target on black men like him. And though they’re from different backgrounds and eras (the whole May/December thing), Hilary begins a passionate secret love affair with Stephan. However, when the local hooligans storm the Empire and attack him, this shatters her delicate psyche, sending her into a mental health crisis. Not long after Mr. Ellis announces that the Empire will be part of a “shared” nationwide premiere of the new “prestige” picture CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Can Hilary control her inner demons and join Stephan for the big event?
Thsi heartfelt “memory piece” provides a powerful showcase for the always superb Ms. Colman, adding another complex character to her impressive resume. She projects a real warmth as Hilary to her co-workers, almost becoming their “work mum” while being the consummate “team player. This adds to our shock as we see her abused and exploited by her selfish “superior”. When she meets her “soul mate” Colman lets us see that the spark in Hilary’s often tired eyes as be rekindled, then we see it neatly snuffed out when the intolerant outside forces intrude and push her into an abyss of despair and delusion. Ward is soulful and sympathetic as the kind newcomer who touches Hilary’s fragile heart, merging with her rather than using her like the detestable Ellis, given an arrogant sneer and pompous demeanor by the talented Firth who treats the big “premiere” as his big chance to elevate his social and economic status. For him, Hilary is a mere “stress reliever’ who must toil in “the trenches” until his urges take control. Some much-needed comic relief is provided by Jones whose Norman sees himself as the king of his tiny “nerve center” of the cinema priding himself over his attention to perfect focus and split-second “reel changes”.
Writer/director Sam Mendes takes a hiatus from his big blockbusters like 1917 and the Bond franchise for a “deep dive’ into 1980s film cultures and the swirling political landscape of the time. We get the impression that he commenting about the current “climate”, but he “hammers” away at it, often intruding on the character study at the story’s center. Mendes sets us up for a whimsical nostalgic romp, then abruptly switches gears into a “forbidden” love story which leads to a plunge into madness. Of course, an exploration of mental health issues can illuminate, but here it seems to provide several big dramatic and awkward sequences with little insight, as with Hilary’s intrusion into Ellis’ premier triumph. It also chips away at the romance between her and Stephan which has little direction and appears to “spin its wheels” during the last act. As stated earlier, Colman is superb, but the script structure really leaves her adrift. Finally, her big elevation feels forced and more than a bit contrived when she finds her “sanctuary”, not a church but a true EMPIRE OF LIGHT.
Searchlight Pictures has released the first trailer for EMPIRE OF LIGHT.
Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema, from Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes.
Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, announced that Mendes will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award. The TIFF Tribute Awards presented by BVLGARI will return to an in-person gala fundraiser during the 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 11 at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
TIFF will be presenting the Canadian Premiere of Mendes’ most recent work, which he wrote, directed, and produced. Mendes made his feature film debut at the Festival in 1999 with the World Premiere of American Beauty, a TIFF People’s Choice Award winner, for which he was honoured with an Oscar in the Best Director category.
Called “catnip for cinephiles” by Bailey, watch the first trailer.
EMPIRE OF LIGHT features a stellar cast led by Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Lost Daughter), BAFTA winner Micheal Ward (Blue Story, Top Boy), with Toby Jones and Academy Award winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man). It also reunites Mendes with Academy Award winning cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917, Skyfall).
In August it was announced that EMPIRE OF LIGHT would be the American Express Gala Film at the 66th BFI London Film Festival.
The film, produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris’ Neal Street Productions, in partnership with Searchlight Pictures, will release theatrically in the US on December 9 and in the UK on January 13.
Sam Mendes said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be included in this year’s BFI London Film Festival as the AMEX Gala screening. Empire of Light is a very personal movie for me, and I can’t wait to show it in my home town.”
Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu and Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Cholmondeley, in OPERATION MINCEMEAT. Photo Credit: Giles Keyte/See-Saw Films, Courtesy of Netflix
“Truth is stranger than fiction” stories are often the best, and the true story behind the British WWII tale OPERATION MINCEMEAT is plenty strange, and surprisingly impressive in its audacity and brilliant execution. Colin Firth (THE KING’S SPEECH) and Matthew Macfadyen (TV’s “Succession,” PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) star as a pair of WWII British intelligence agents with an odd idea for a ruse to plant false information, aimed at Hitler, about a planned Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, using a most unlikely spy: a dead man. Director John Madden’s thriller OPERATION MINCEMEAT inevitably has the potential for gallows humor, given that outrageous idea, but it is also a tale about an impressive intelligence operation that actually took place and, moreover, played a pivotal role in the war. Add in the fact that the two agents are working partly with a creative young intelligence agent named Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming, the guy who wrote the James Bond stories), and you have a lot of juicy factual material to work with.
In addition to Firth and Macfadyen, OPERATION MINCEMEAT has an excellent cast that includes Kelly MacDonald, Penelope Wilton, Mark Gatiss, Jason Isaacs, Johnny Flynn and more. With all that, you have all the elements in place for an engrossing historical true story but one that is different from the usual WWII tale. It is a different kind of war story, one that takes place far from the battlefield, but what these individuals are doing in secret proves crucial to the Allies’ success in the war.
It is 1943, and British troops have been battling Nazi troops in grueling conditions in Africa and Asia, but are now poised to launch an invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. The most obvious landing spot for that assault is Sicily but the Allies will face daunting odds against the entrenched Axis forces. Unless the Allies can convince Hitler that the attack will come elsewhere, specifically Greece, Allied troops will likely face massive loss of lives and potential failure of the invasion. If the invasion of Italy fails, it would be as catastrophic as if D-Day had failed. The stakes could not be higher.
Desperate to come up with a plan, the Brits turn to their intelligence community. Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth), a brilliant barrister turned intelligence officer, and Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) are part of a team of British intelligence agents tasked with finding a ruse that will persuade Hitler that the Allies plan to land in Greece instead of Sicily, and make him shift his troops there. Drawing from a handbook of spy craft and subterfuge created by an intelligence officer named Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn), Montagu and Cholmondeley pick out an outrageous idea: to plant false secret information on a dead body and then arrange for the Nazis to find it. Their “agent” will seem to be a courier who died in a plane crash at sea and washed up on the coast of Spain, a fascist but neutral country. The plan then calls for secret efforts to guide the information straight to Hitler’s eyes. The idea is so far-fetched that it faced significant opposition but eventually the plan is approved by Churchill. Montagu and Cholmondeley (whose name is pronounced “Chumley”) are assigned to lead the top secret Twenty Committee of Naval Intelligence, and a dingy basement office for their work. Montagu’s long-time assistant and friend Hester Leggett (Penelope Wilton) and a clever, young office worker, Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald), also join the team working on the plan, which is dubbed “Operation Mincemeat.”
In order to pull off this plan, the team has to devise a complete story and convincing persona for their “agent,” as well as create a convincingly worn uniform, the contents of a wallet and personal effects, and numerous other details, along with the documents to convince the Germans of a secret plan to invade Greece. They also must decide where (and how) to get the body off the coast of Spain, and then guide it to the right people so the information goes straight to Hitler, while convincing the Spanish and Germans that the Allies were desperate to retrieve the documents about the faux invasion plans. No detail can be overlooked, because discovery of the ruse means disaster for the troops.
They also need a body to play the part. You would think that finding a dead body in wartime would be easy, but no. For one thing, the dead person has to meet strict criteria: be young and look convincing as British officer, and appear to have drowned, as the Germans will certainly do forensics on the corpse. They have their work cut out for them.
Oddly, one of the first things the team does in constructing this complicated ruse is obtain the dead body to play the part, which means there is a ticking clock immediately running, as they race to get all the pieces in place for the ruse before the dead body becomes too far gone to be useful. Meanwhile, as they work furiously on the project, a kind of love triangle develops with Montagu, Cholmondeley and Jean Leslie.
The idea is so outrageous, and the steps they take to make sure every detail is seamless are fascinating, making this rich material for an entertaining film about in this behind-the-scenes WWII true story. Plus, OPERATION MINCEMEAT features a splendid cast of talented Brits, and the cast alone is a treat for fans of British films and television series.
OPERATION MINCEMEAT features voice-over narration that seems a bit flowery at first, until you realize that the narrator is Ian Fleming, played with charm by Johnny Flynn. There is a running joke about Fleming, and a seeming host of others in the offices, typing away on novels in their spare moments, on the office typewriters. There are plentiful references to the British tradition of adventure novels, particularly John Buchan and his bestseller “The 39 Steps.” Director John Madden is famous for such period works as SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, so he handles all that well here, but the director is less known for comedy. To be clear, this is not a comedy, but it does have a bombastic, humorous element, and sometimes a little inner “Weekend with Bernie” wants to come out.
Madden’s attention to period detail is flawless and the photography splendid as well. The concept of storytelling is a strong theme in this film, where the team is writing the story of their fictional agent, while several people involved are writing their own novels. The film is based on a book by Ben Macintyre, but director John Madden and scriptwriter Michelle Ashford build the film around the characters as much as the surprising story. In the course of their work, Montagu and Cholmondeley develop a close friendship, but it is strained by the fact that they are both attracted to Kelly Macdonald’s Jean. In addition to the romantic rivalry, both Montagu and Cholmondeley have complicated personal lives that add to the tension as they work.
The fact that the film has so much going on – the clandestine operation, the love triangle, the complex personal stories of Montagu and Cholmondeley, and the storytelling theme – means holding a focus is a challenge. At times, that complexity actually works against the film as a whole, making a bit cluttered and unfocused. This is a fascinating true story but all the moving parts makes it feel as if Madden did not quite trust the appeal of this unlikely tale. There is enough material here for a couple of good movies but less may have been more in this case. Still, the cast is wonderful, the little touches of humor, and the basic unexpectedness of the true story do add up to an entertaining film highlighting the brilliance of these unsung war heroes and this remarkable untold story.
OPERATION MINCEMEAT opens at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters on Friday, May 6, and debuts streaming on Netflix on May 11.
Odessa Young as Jane Fairchild, Josh O’Connor as Paul Sheringham in MOTHERING SUNDAY. Image by Jamie D. Ramsay (SASC). Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
What looks at first like period drama, a steamy “Downton Abbey,” set in England in the wake of World War I, morphs into something deeper and more far-reaching, as MOTHERING SUNDAY follows the changing life of a young maid, tracing the awful legacy of that devastating war and the transformations it wrought, and also depicting a literary awakening and three stages in an artist’s life.
MOTHERING SUNDAY starts out in1924 at a British country manor house on Mother’s Day, known there as Mothering Sunday, when aristocrats traditionally gave their servants the day off to visit their mothers. Young Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) was raised in an orphanage so she has no mother to visit. However, she has other, secret plans, to visit her lover, Paul (Josh O’Connor, the young Prince Charles on “The Crown”), the son of aristocrat friends of her employers, kindly Mr. Niven (Colin Firth) and stern, unsmiling Mrs. Niven (Olivia Colman), who are joining Paul’s parents to picnic on the banks of the Thames along with another aristocratic couple whose daughter, Emma Hobday (Emma D’Arcy), is engaged to Paul.
But Paul is going to show up late, claiming he’s studying, although he’s really meeting Jane , his longtime lover, at his home, for a rare chance for them to enjoy a comfortable real bed. We get scenes of the maid and young aristocrat cavorting joyfully, with full frontal nudity by both Odessa Young and Josh O’Connor.
After her lover Paul departs, young Jane wanders, sans clothing, around the deserted mansion, as the film flashes back and forth in time. Also inter-cut are scenes with the aristocratic families picnicking on the banks of the Thames, the party that Paul is going to join.
The nudity is one of the things that lingers in the mind with this drama, along with its unusual non-linear structure. Despite the film’s unusual structure, we are never lost or unclear about where or when we are, a tribute to director Eva Husson’s skill. The film also impresses with its rich visual beauty and the gem-like performances explore the lasting impact of the particularly devastating WWI.
The flashbacks show Jane earlier in her long romance with Paul, as well as going about her work at the Nivens’ mansion or in conversation with another maid, who lost her fiance to the war. It jumps forward in time to scenes of her working in a bookstore and with a philosopher played by Sope Dirisu, who became her husband, and then Jane late in life as a famous writer, played by the legendary Glenda Jackson. It is a life of loss and triumph, from humble beginnings.
The class divide dooms Jane and Paul’s romance while Paul’s engagement is a more “suitable” marriage for both young people. But it is a prospect less wanted by either of the engaged young people than their parents, the reasons for which are eventually revealed.
This story does not remain the steamy period romance it appears to be at first, although we sense a sadness underneath from the start. We first meet Jane as a young maid, who was born the out-of-wedlock daughter of a maid, raised in an orphanage, and working as a servant in an aristocratic house and having an affair with a young aristocrat. It is not a life with great promise but in shifting times, Jane’s life takes her far from the manor house, through a number of changes as she becomes the famous writer she will be.
Director Eva Husson’s film, using a script by Alice Birch, departs from the original story by Graham Swift but in doing so, the film expands its scope include the bigger shifts in British society at the time, as well as the remarkable life of this woman.
The film is flooded with a deep visual beauty, particularly in the earliest part, thanks to Jamie Ramsay’s fine photography. The tragedy of the war, and other losses that follow, shape Jane’s life indirectly but while there is plenty of personal heartbreak and loss in this tale along with its triumphs.
The film sports an impressive cast of British greats, although many of them get only brief screen time. Still, they each deliver gem-like performances. Olivia Colman plays Clarrie Niven, the dour wife of Colin Firth’s sweet Mr. Niven, who we may dislike until the reason for her grimness, and other unspoken tensions, are revealed at the picnic in a heartbreaking scene. Firth, O’Connor, and Emma D’Arcy, as Paul’s fiancee, also give searing, heart-rending performances, but a standout is Sope Dirisu, as the man who opens to door to Jane’s literary awakening and adds another tragic note. These fine performances, however brief, powerfully help depict the devastating legacy of the war and the other experiences, good and painful, that shape the protagonist’s life and career as a writer.
It is better not to describe too much of the story, which risks spoilers, but the changes in this young woman’s life reflect the changes in British society after WWI, particularly shifts in the class system and the expanding opportunities for women. That war nearly wiped out a generation of young men, leaving parents bereft but also a generation of young women with no young men to marry, women who then had to consider how to make their own way in life, and maybe seek more. None of this is expressed directly, but indirectly it is reflected in the life of the woman we meet as a young maid who becomes a famous author, a transformation nearly inconceivable in an earlier era.
This fine drama has many rewards, and not just its evocative visual beauty, with director Eva Husson’s skillful storytelling and fine performances by a cast of British greats. MOTHERING SUNDAY opens in theaters on Friday, Apr. 8.
In 2017 audiences witnessed Christopher Nolan’s brilliant thriller DUNKIRK, depicting the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II. At the 90th Academy Awards, it was awarded Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing, with five further nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design.
Two war movies are set to land this awards season. ROland Emmerich’s WWII film MIDWAY and now the movie 1917.
Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of Skyfall, Spectre and American Beauty, brings his singular vision to his World War I epic, 1917.
The First World War was fought on a vast scale and raised unprecedented challenges for the leaders of the combatant nations.
The political leaders were responsible for the decision to go to war, and for deciding what war aims to pursue. The horrific casualties sustained early in the war meant that none of them could consider accepting a peace without victory. They were forced to oversee ever-increasing social and industrial mobilization to support the war, and to mortgage the financial future of their countries to pay for it.
Official synopsis:
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (Captain Fantastic’s George MacKay) and Blake (Game of Thrones’ Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers—Blake’s own brother among them.
The cast also features Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, with Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.
1917 is directed by Sam Mendes, who wrote the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (Showtime’s Penny Dreadful). The film is produced by Mendes and Pippa Harris (co-executive producer, Revolutionary Road; executive producer, Away We Go) for their Neal Street Productions, Jayne-Ann Tenggren (co-producer, The Rhythm Section; associate producer, Spectre), Callum McDougall (executive producer, Mary Poppins Returns, Skyfall) and Brian Oliver (executive producer, Rocketman; Black Swan). The film is produced by Neal Street Productions for DreamWorks Pictures in association with New Republic Pictures.
Thomas Newman will team up once again with Mendes to score the film. 1917 also reunites Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins. The last film Deakins shot was BLADE RUNNER 2019 which earned him his first Academy Awars after 14 nominations.
Universal Pictures will release the film domestically in limited release on December 25, 2019 and wide on January 10, 2020. Universal and Amblin Partners will distribute the film internationally, with eOne distributing on behalf of Amblin in the U.K.
An unbelievable, action-packed true story comes home when THE COMMANDarrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and Digital August 6 from Lionsgate.
An unbelievable, action-packed true story comes home when The Command arrives on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and Digital August 6 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On Demand. Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, and Academy Award® winner Colin Firth (2010, Best Actor, The King’s Speech), don’t miss the riveting story about the 2000 nuclear submarine disaster based on Robert Moore’s book, A Time to Die, directed by award winner Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, The Celebration, Far From the Madding Crowd), and written by Robert Rodat. The Command Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD will include the “Human Costs: Making The Command” featurette and will be available for the suggested retail price of $22.99 and $19.98, respectively.
Colin Firth stars in the unforgettable true story of the K-141 Kursk, a Russian flagship nuclear powered submarine that sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea in August 2000. As 23 sailors fought for survival aboard the disabled sub, their families desperately battled bureaucratic obstacles and impossible odds to find answers and save them.
BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
“Human Costs: Making The Command” Featurette
CAST Matthias Schoenaerts Rust and Bone, The Danish Girl, Red Sparrow Léa Seydoux Spectre, The Lobster, The Grand Budapest Hotel Colin Firth The King’s Speech, Bridget Jones’s Diary
With the big year-end holidays just days away, many are rushing out of town to be with loved ones, which makes it a perfect time for the movies to ponder that age-old question, “Can you really go home again?”. In other words, can you recapture the wonder and general magic of our childhood years? The Disney Studios certainly hope that’s possible, for they’ve got a lot riding (financially and artistically) on a sequel to their founder’s last great box office triumph (certainly “Uncle” Walt’s biggest “mainly” live action hit). But wait, you may ask, didn’t that celebrated “man from Marceline Missouri” pass away in 1966? Exactly, and this classic hit theatres two years before that, even inspiring a “making of” docudrama five years ago, SAVING MR. BANKS. So, can this icon, a different sort of soaring super-heroine, save filmgoers from the holiday flick doldrums (so many of the end of the year films are “downers”)? Well, as fans across the globe will learn when MARY POPPINS RETURNS, she’s still practically perfect in every way.
The first person greeting us at the start of this tale is not Bert the chimney sweep, but Jack the lamp-lighter (Lin-Manuel Miranda) who rides his bike around dawn in the still darkened streets of London, though part of the darkness might be the fact that the city is in the throes of “The Great Slump” (in the states we called it a “Depression”). Yes, a lot has changed in the 25 years since we last visited Cherry Tree Lane. The Banks family still occupies a lovely home there, not far from the punctual Admiral Boom (David Warner), but it’s Michael (Ben Whitshaw) that’s the head of the household. He has three children of his own, ten-year-old Anabel (Pixie Davies), eight-year-old John (Nathanael Saleh), and six-year-old little Georgie (Joel Dawson), but no wife since she passed away fairly recently. Luckily Michael’s sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) helps out whenever possible, between protesting corruption and serving at the soup kitchen (some call her a “union organizer”, but she’sd no doubt prefer “defender of the downtrodden). Plus there’s long-time cook/housekeeper Ellen (Julie Walters) who seems more like part of the family. Unfortunately, Michael’s artistic aspirations have not been fruitful, so he has taken out a loan from the bank where his father worked, the old Fidelity Fiduciary (he’s a part-time clerk there). And now the loan is almost due and the bank will take the house in just a few days unless it’s paid in full. The sympathetic (seemingly) new bank manager, Mr. Wilkins (Colin Firth) insists that he’ll give them until midnight on that Friday. Oh, but didn’t Grandpa’ George buy bank stock notes? As they frantically look through the attic, Michael tosses out an old kite. The wind picks it up and takes it to the park where the children are playing. Lil’ Georgie grabs the string and is almost pulled into the sky until Jack rescues him and pulls at the kite. Suddenly the line goes slack, the clouds part to reveal that a woman floating by means of an umbrella is now holding the kite. It is the Banks’ former nanny Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt). She takes the trio home to a very surprised Michael and Jane (“You’ve not aged a day!”). Though they cannot pay her, Mary insists on taking charge of the three children. They then embark on a series of magical, musical adventures as the elder Bankses struggle to save the old house from foreclosure, something Mary’s magic cannot forestall. Or can it?
The main question in the minds of most fans of the character is how Ms. Blunt stacks up to the Oscar-winning performance of Julie Andrews in the original. The short answer is very well, with Blunt putting a similar but different spin on her. Yes, Mary’s still a tough taskmaster and stickler for order, but Blunt delights as she shows us her mischevious, fun-loving side, such as when she joins the kids for a “dive” into the bathtub, and later as she demures before going into a big musical number before a very appreciative animal audience. For that sprightly song, Mary drops the prim and proper to be a bit, well, bawdy as she doffs a derby and twirls a cane. Mere moments later she’s the ultimate caregiver, so soothing and warm as she helps the children cope with their recent loss (the ballad “The Place Where Lost Things Go”). And as we heard in her role recently in INTO THE WOODS, Blunt has a most lovely singing voice. The same can be said of her frequent dance partner here, Miranda, who has taken over the Bert functions (it’s explained that Jack was an apprentice to Bert, and waved to little Jane from the rooftops). Best known for rapping in the Broadway smash “Hamilton”, Miranda even gets to indulge in a bit of the same during that earlier mentioned number with Blunt. Later he keeps up expertly as the leader of the “Leeries” (lamplighters) in the energetic (exhausting really) “Trip a Little Light Fantastic”. Unfortunately, the Jack character can be a little cloying to the point of preciousness as he seems to condescend to the kids (always on the verge of a wink), and he appears to grab screen time away from Mary. And who in the make-up department thought the “five o’clock shadow” effect didn’t look like a child’s “hobo” Halloween outfit (either grow some stubble or be clean-shaven, really)?
Yes, it’s basically the Mary and Jack show, but the supporting cast gets many chances to shine. From a dramatic standpoint, Whishaw is the story’s bruised, almost broken heart. Life has truly pummeled him, and like his papa, Mary needs to “save” him and remind him of life’s joys. We see all this through Whishaw’s sad, sunken eyes which show a spark as Mary enters his lofe once more. Though not as tragic as her brother, Mortimer is excellent as the grown empathetic sis who seems to have never forgotten those sweet moments of generosity. Plus she has some lovely moments with Jack, as the hint of romance makes Jane’s bubbly attitude return. Firth oozes silky menace as the duplicitous money-lender, going from sweet (around Michael) to sour on a dime (if his mustache weren’t pencil-thin he’s be twirling it as he thinks of taking the house). Warner’s a loveable old crank as the time-obsessed neighbor. Blunt’s frequent film co-star Meryl Streep shows up for a song and dance as Mary’s wacky, repair-shop owner Cousin Topsy. Sporting a bright red flapper wig and doing a Fanny Brice-style Old World accent, her “Turning Turtle” number is a bit of forced whimsy that grinds the plot to a halt, though Streep, as usual, gives her utmost effort. Another screen veteran, Angela Landsbury, works much better as the Balloon Lady as she sings a spirited rendition of the very catchy final tune “Nowhere to Go But Up”. Oh, the new trio of Banks kids are pretty great, very natural and endearing. But they’re not nearly as adorable as the film’s scene-stealer Navckid Keyd, whose number at the bank office is a real “show stopper”. This fella’s going places, even with that tongue-twisting moniker.
Movie musical vet Rob Marshall (CHICAGO, INTO THE WOODS) keeps the story moving along at a fairly brisk pace, making its over two-hour running time almost breeze by (despite the “Turtle” number and the endless stunt cyclers). And there’s plenty of good-natured humor in the script he co-wrote with David Magee and John DeLuca (based on the characters and stories created by P.L. Travers) which recalls many of the “story beats” of the original without being an exact “carbon copy”. The same could be said somewhat with the original songs and score by Marc Shaiman (with a lyric assist from Scott Wittman) which evoke bits of the iconic score by “The Boys”, as Disney called the Sherman Brothers (try and watch the superb documentary THE BOYS for some great insight into the 1964 film) while having a distinct sprightly, hummable energy and offering a familiar formula (“Step in Time”=”Trip a Little Light Fantastic”,”I Love to Laugh”=”Turning Turtle”, and so on). Time will tell if they’ll have the staying power of Robert and Richard’s melodies (my bet is on the infectious “A Cover is Not the Book” and “Can You Imagine That?”). And big big kudos to Mr. Marshall on insisting that the animated sequence (the highpoint of the original for me) be produced in “hand-drawn” 2D rather than computer-aided 3D (though tech helped with shadows and mixing in the live actors). The line work on the pastel-attired menagerie is delicate, almost “whispy” as though lightly brushed on ceramic as opposed to heavier scratchy lines of the first film. The audience of “The Royal Doughton Music Hall” is a delight that suddenly turns dark and full of danger as a cartoon wolf behaves more like one of the human predators. The whole film greatly benefits from the very talented craftspeople led by production designer John Myhre and photographed with dazzling skill by Dion Beebe with great use of real UK locales (the first film was shot entirely on Hollywood sound stages). So, did the filmmakers “go home again”. For the most part, they’ve produced a most happy “homecoming”. Remembering that 2013 “behind the scenes” film, I’d surmise that “Uncle” Walt would have a grand ole’ time with this while Mrs. Travers would be fairly irritated (too much use of the red color for one thing). With so much discord and darkness filling the news these days, audiences should find a much welcome escape by revisiting the magic when MARY POPPINS RETURNS.
THE HAPPY PRINCE is not a happy story, neither the children’s tale by Oscar Wilde nor this biopic about Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was one of the world’s literary greats, the author of “The Importance of Being Ernest” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” among others, and also a figure famous for his flamboyant clothing, his sharp wit and sparkling conversation, which made him a favorite of London society in the late 19th century Wilde was a figure who had a glorious rise to fame and fortune followed by one of the most tragic ends. However, THE HAPPY PRINCE gives us only the tragic end, presenting Wilde’s glory days in a few too-short flashbacks.
What led to Oscar Wilde’s downfall was being gay, which was illegal in England at the time. After years of delighting audiences with his witty plays and being the toast of London society, Wilde foolishly became involved in a court case with the Marquess of Queensberry (the one who wrote the rules of boxing). The Marquess’ son, Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, who was Wilde’s lover, had encouraged Wilde to bring the court case against his father but it disastrously backfired, and ended up with Wilde himself being put on trial for being homosexual. Wilde was convicted and sent to prison for two years, after which he fled to France with plans to re-start his career.
Wilde was never able to recover from the blow, an especially tragic fate for an author whose work had made so many laugh. Wilde’s rise and fall life seems perfect material for a great film but THE HAPPY PRINCE only gives us the fall, the time after the trial when Wilde tried and failed to re-start his life and career in France. The film picks up Wilde’s story after he is already in exile in France but jumps around in time as we witness his sad decline.
Rupert Everett both directs and stars as Oscar Wilde in exile, in this lush, literate, admiring period drama. Everett does not particularly look like Wilde but he delivers a moving performance, particularly in scenes where he speaks passages from the author’s works. In exile, Wilde still has supporters, notably his loyal friends Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) and Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas). Colin Morgan plays the handsome and spoiled Bosie, who despite the opposition of his friends joins the forgiving Wilde in exile, where he causes more trouble and heart-ache. Emily Watson plays Wilde’s wife Constance, of whom the author is still fond despite his attraction to men. This sterling cast is also joined be a few other notable British actors in small roles, particularly Tom Wilkinson.
THE HAPPY PRINCE begins Oscar Wilde’s story with the author in Paris some years after his release from prison, when the nearly penniless Wilde is drowning his sorrows in absinthe. From that point, the drama jumps back and forth in time, illustrating both hope and despair in the author’s post-trial exile. There are moments of defiance and flashes of wit and artistic flare, although the overall trajectory is downward.
Before things get underway, the film opens with a prelude of Wilde reciting his children’s story “The Happy Prince” to his own two young sons> the story is a magical but sad fairy tale, in which a sparrow left behind by his flock meets the statue of a now-dead prince who had never known sadness in life. The sparrow shows the prince the suffering of the poor, and the jeweled and gold-clad statue is so touched, he begins to give pieces of himself to the poor with the help of the sparrow. The film uses the telling of Wilde’s children’s story as a running theme, returning to it periodically, with Wilde recounting the tale either to his sons before his conviction or two French orphans he befriends in his exile in France.
The film is clearly a labor of love for all involved, and there are very talented people involved. The subject is admirable, and the production itself is lavish, the locations breathtaking, and the acting nicely done. Besides the excepts from the children’s story told throughout, there are other snippets of Oscar Wilde, which are the most magical moments in film.
The film has its glowing moments for the true fan. THE HAPPY PRINCE is a visually gorgeous film, filled with period locations and costumes in beautifully photographed shots composed with painterly loveliness. Even shots of poor streets of Paris in snow have a quiet beauty. Besides the children’s story, the film has other snippets of Wilde’s works, which provide some of its best moments. From time to time, the drama seems to pause and linger in a golden moment, generally as Everett is reciting some of Wilde’s works against a breath-taking romantic or scenic backdrop. The visual bounty in gorgeous sets, costumes and locations, along with fine acting and loving period detail, are major assets in the film.
Still, the film can be heavy going for any but the most ardent Wilde devotees, making one wish for a little absinthe oneself to make it through all the author’s heartbreaking decline. The drama focuses on only the saddest parts of Wilde’s life, which makes it feel unbalanced, and the film is also a bit unfocused and rambling at times. We get too little of the wit and humor for which Wilde was famous, although the film does have moments of magical delight.
THE HAPPY PRINCE only covers the fall portion of Wilde’s rise-and-fall story, making it a rather heavy, sad film albeit a well-acted and beautifully photographed one. The drama is more suited to serious Oscar Wilde devotees who know his story well, than a less knowledgeable general audience, where a bit more of Wilde’s wit could have brought into sharper focus how great the loss of this literary figure was for the world.
THE HAPPY PRINCE opens Friday, October 19, at Plaza Frontenac Cinema.
Check out the brand new teaser trailer and teaser poster from Disney’s MARY POPPINS RETURNS, an all new sequel with a fresh sensibility that celebrates the spirit of the original.
In the film, which hits U.S. theaters this Christmas, Mary Poppins is back to help the next generation of the Banks family find the joy and wonder missing in their lives.
P.L. Travers first introduced the world to the no-nonsense nanny in her 1934 children’s book “Mary Poppins.” However, the subsequent adventures of Mary Poppins remained only on the pages of the seven other P.L. Travers’ books…until now.
MARY POPPINS RETURNS stars Emily Blunt as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure; Lin-Manuel Miranda as her friend Jack, an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London; Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks; Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks; and Julie Walters as the Banks’ housekeeper Ellen; with Colin Firth as Fidelity Fiduciary Bank’s William Weatherall Wilkins; and Meryl Streep as Mary’s eccentric cousin, Topsy. The film also introduces three new Banks’ children played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and newcomer Joel Dawson. Angela Lansbury appears as the Balloon Lady, a treasured character from the PL Travers books and Dick Van Dyke is Mr. Dawes Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth’s character.
The film is directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay by David Magee and screen story by Magee & Marshall & John DeLuca based upon The Mary Poppins Stories by PL Travers. The producers are Marshall, DeLuca and Marc Platt with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer and the music is by Marc Shaiman with songs by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) returns to the Banks’ home in Disney’s original musical, MARY POPPINS RETURNS, a sequel to the 1964 MARY POPPINS which takes audiences on an entirely new adventure with the practically perfect nanny and the Banks family.
Lin-Manuel Miranda stars as Jack who jumps in to help Georgie Banks (Joel Dawson) in Disney’s original musical MARY POPPINS RETURNS, a sequel to the 1964 MARY POPPINS which takes audiences on an entirely new adventure with the practically-perfect nanny and the Banks family.
