Director: David Mamet
Starring: Rebecca Pidgeon, Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam, Gemma Jones,
Matthew Pidgeon, Guy Edwards, Colin Stinton
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The Winslow Boy (1998) - IMDB
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David Mamet's sixth film as writer-director is a reworking of Terrence
Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy and appears to be a timely dramatic complement to the Clinton impeachment affair. Justice is the central issue: the questions raised are how far one is willing to humble and humiliate oneself and one's family in the pursuit of justice and, in the end, is it worth it?
Set in a rather pristine London of 1910 and based on a true tale, The Winslow Boy follows a young sea cadet who, accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order, is expelled from naval college. Convinced of his innocence, his family pursues the case against the Crown through the high courts, attracting huge media attention and almost ruin.
A seductive drama, The Winslow Boy is supported primarily by the fine performance of Nigel Hawthorne as the father Arthur. Hawthorne is at ease with the cold, clean dialogue of Mamet and endows it with a depth sorely missed in the performance of Rebecca Pidgeon, who plays his daughter, Catherine. Her delivery of Mamet's clipped lines seems to strain for Received Pronunciation but falls far short, achieving merely a Vulcan-like flatness in its tone. These shortcomings are unfortunate as Pidgeon plays the central character; Catherine's struggle for women's rights mirrors the family's struggle for justice - a lost cause, according to their sly-but-dashing lawyer, played excellently by Jeremy Northam. Meanwhile the Boy himself, an anemic young Ronnie Winslow, is played ably enough by Guy Edwards. Sadly though, his most noteworthy characteristic is his total physical dissimilarity to the rest of his screen family.
The heavy-handed inclusion of too many visual aids in the form of
newspaper cuttings and posters becomes a little tiresome. As a one off
theatrical device these signifiers work fine but too often an old-style
cartoon alluding to the public scandal of the Winslow case intrudes into a
scene.
On the whole however, the drama itself is superb and surprisingly
engaging, largely because of Mamet's oh-so-witty and clever reworking of
the original text.
Reviewed by Iain Tibbles
Reader comments about The Winslow Boy
peter sear (peter@jamessear.co.uk) writes:
I enjoyed this well acted film this morning. The original play has been adapted sucessfully and this is greatly down to the obvious ability of the players.
Glen-Anton Selin (antonselin@hotmail.com) writes:
Though not really exciting, I found the film interesting and well worth seeing. I was particularly fond of the acting of young Guy Edwards,though his role is not extensive.
Paul Harvey (121@post.com) writes:
Some critics miss the point of NOT setting this in the courtroom. That would have been to repeat the emphasis of the 1950 film of the play [worth seeing too for a very different take on the script]. Mamet focusses on the family under strain, but the strain seems a little underplayed, considering the massive privation all are forced to endure in order to clear the boy's name. He seems to have little real import for his family, save his parents, however. Mamet keeps the boy almost as an observer, latterly, but not a central player. Northam's performance is beautifully unravelled and subtle. Hawthorne is always sympathetic and well observed. Gemma Jones is a tender mother figure. The maid and solicitor are able supporters, and Pidgeon does a fine job, despite being hardly convincing regarding her accent. Still, overall, a crafted film, beautifully made in a real London house. Oddly, the huge furore the case causes seems to be only remotely assented to, and the father never goes to court himself. I had some problems suspending my disbelief as the denouement of the verdict arrived.
Bruce Whitehead (Email address withheld) writes:
In dismissing Rebecca Pidgeon's plainsong delivery, Iain Tibbles is plainly unfamiliar with "Mametland", the dialogue technique which denudes acting of its usual obligation to attempt realism (which it never achieves anyway) and strives to let the script speak for itself. The actor becomes merely a loudspeaker for the words on the page, delivering the story as if from a book. So why not just read it in a library? Well, that way we wouldn't enjoy the lazy thrill from a sumptuous depiction of Edwardian Britain. Watch any of Mamet's films or plays and you'll see what I mean.
Peter Sear (peter@jamessear.co.uk) writes:
Having seen this film for a second time, I wish to withdraw my comments above. It is rubbish. The players have about as much ability as jade goody from Big Brother, who I fancy.
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