Three "British" movies in succession, whatever next. A costume drama mixing romance and politics, The Young Victoria succeeds in it's limited aspirations to show this short period in the young Queens life. Having already seen the terrific documentary from the gorgeous and brilliant historian Kate Williams in the BBC "Timewatch" series last November called "Young Victoria", there was nothing new to learn. But the film did concentrate on her relationships with those who sought to manipulate her position, including Paul Bettany as Lord Melbourne and Mark Strong as Sir John Conroy (both wonderfully played), and those who tried to support her. Jim Broadbent as King William was more believable than Rupert Friend as Price Albert. But the star was Emily Blunt.
The Damned United was a typical Peter Morgan drama. He turns the controversial book by David Peace into a more affectionate account of Brian Clough's 44 days as manager of Leeds United. Michael Sheen gives a marvellous interpretation of the best manager England never had. And Timothy Spall as his assistant Peter Taylor shows the warmth that was obvious in a friendship that nearly floundered when Clough takes on the Leeds job without him. Many of the reviews of this film (I cannot believe it scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but as Jonathon Ross admitted, he is not a football fan but enjoyed the film immensely) have their own take on what the film means, even one calls it a thriller. From my own perspective, I believe that Clough learnt a huge lesson in the turmoil of his disastrous short tenure in charge of Leeds United. And it was this chastening experience that not only taught him how much he relied on Peter Taylor, but gave him that extra humanity that brought two European Cups to lowly Nottingham Forest.
The film takes place at the beginning of the 1974/1975 season. Don Revie had just left Leeds to become England manager. After Brian Clough was sacked, Jimmy Armfield took over as manager, but the trauma did not prevent the team reaching the final of the European Cup in May 1975. My experiences of that match will follow.
Well, the music was good, but The Boat that Rocked was a bit of a disappointment. It was far too long (over two hours) to support a pretty flimsy story. It was also quite uneven, boring and embarrassing at times, punctuated by some very funny moments. There has to be something more than a collection of eccentric and engaging characters to make a proper movie. Just thank heavens for Kenneth Branagh's performance as the nasty minister out to stop pirate radio, and tracks from The Rolling Stones and The Who. Oh ,and the bit when the boat is in trouble and the DJ says " so we will leave with a long track" and plays "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
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