Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
If anyone out there knows who is picking this up for distribution in the US, or can confirm that it is indeed coming to our shores in the near-future, please get in touch with me. Otherwise, let’s see that TalkBack full of our English readers. If this is really as good as it sounds, I’d love to hear from you, and if it’s just hype, then let us know...
Hello Harry :)
Thought you might be interested in a new BBC two-part drama called The Lost Prince that is being screened at the moment on BBC1 here in the UK. It has been so well received by both critics and the public that it is being picked up for US cinema release in an edited version (it currently runs at 3 hours) - I think an announcement on this is due next week. Here it was watched by 8 million people, which is a huge audience for a 'highbrow' drama of this kind.
It's written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff (who looks like a slim version of Peter Jackson!) and tells the relatively unknown story of Prince John who suffered from epilepsy and an autism-related disorder and was pretty much hidden away by his parents Queen Mary and King George V. Set around the time of the First World War it stars Michael Gambon as King Edward VII, Miranda Richardson as Queen Mary, Tom Hollander as King George V, Gina McKee (who you may have seen in Michael Winterbottom's film Wonderland) as Prince John's devoted nanny and Frank Finlay as Prime Minister Asquith.
At the time, disability was something to be hidden and the thought of the public knowing about Prince John's epileptic seizures was unthinkable. He was therefore raised in a secluded country home and until now his story wasn't widely known with very few photographs of the boy existing. His parents were emotionally rigid and unable to display affection or compassion towards him, and yet we feel sympathy for their struggle to understand what was then a not very well understood condition.
The production has impressively captured Edwardian splendour, a lifestyle that pretty much ended after the catastrophic events of the Great War. The events of these years, which also takes in the suffragete movement, the general strike and the Russian Revolution, are largely seen through the eyes of Prince Johnnie. Being isolated from the rest of the royal family his overview was obviously very sporadic and he only occasionaly catches glimpses of British public figures and his European and Russian royal relatives through cracks in the door etc. As he eavesdrops we see events unfold with the same sense of wonder that Johnnie feels and we see historical disasters become personal tragedies, as when he hears his Russian cousins have been assassinated. But we also share in his happiness, for example as he tends his garden at Sandringham House (the country retreat now used by Queen Elizabeth II).
Occasionally Poliakoff feels forced to stray away from Johnnie's enclosed world in order to show us more of the behind the scenes meetings that took place in the palaces and this feels a bit like cheating. But you can see how it was during this time that the British royal family finally lost it's grip on world affairs as the politicians took over, and how the glory of the Royal dynasties came to a brutal end.
The acting by the child actors is extremely impressive - it's very rare to see acting of such subtlety and maturity as that offered by the four boys who play Prince John and his brother Prince George at two stages in their lives. And as is usual with Poliakoff dramas the adult acting is uniformly excellent - it's almost impossible to single anyone out for extra mention (which may work against it when it hits the awards circuit). But it will almost definately be winnning BAFTA's and Emmy's.
In case you're not too familiar with Stephen Poliakoff's work (i don't know if you've caught his TV work over in the States) he made his name in the late 70s and early 80s with single dramas for televison. One of the best of these was Caught on a Train starring Peggy Ashcroft and Michael Kitchen which they showed last night on BBC4. I think he first became famous in the US in 1991 with his film Close My Eyes, but he then became relatively quiet. It's only in the last few years that he has found his feet again with a series of BBC dramas; Shooting the Past starring Timothy Spall, Lindsey Duncan and Emilia Fox; and Perfect Strangers starring Michael Gambon, again Spall and Duncan and also Toby Stephens (from Die Another Day). If you haven't seen these they are well worth checking out. Since the death of Dennis Potter and the decline of Alan Bleasdale, Poliakoff is the best talent we have working on British television at the moment.
Anyway, i hope The Lost Prince reaches you soon.
all the best,
Manny
Sounds damn good to me, and I hope it reaches us, too.
"Moriarty" out.
