Well here's an interesting sounding little film. I wonder how many of you really liked GREYSTOKE? I saw that film so many times it's not even funny.. My father took me to it on an... every other day pattern that particular summer. And as for CHARIOTS OF FIRE... It's one of the few movie themes I can play from memory on a piano, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Hugh Hudson has up his sleeve this time out. There are plenty of spoilers here so beware....
Tuesday night in NYC, I attended what one of the studio mutant beings called "one of the first screenings ever" of director Hugh ("Chariots of Fire", "Greystoke") Hudson's new "Merchant-Ivoryish" Scottish period piece, entitled "MY LIFE SO FAR" onscreen, however the passes to this screening, as well as the questionairres we filled out afterward read that "THE ROARING GAME" was the film's title....so who knows. While in line, I also heard a studio guy say that Hudson was in the audience, but he made no appearance before or afterwards.
Hudson's "Chariots" was one of the first films (other than Star Wars) that I saw more than once in a theater. (And I was only 12 at the time!) I still worship that film from start to finish. (When my elementary school track team had a meet on a Sunday, I announced that "I would not run on the Sabbath". So, I didn't.) But the film I saw Tuesday night was obviously a "work-in- progress", and I recognize it as such.
The film is a gentle, uncomplicated coming-of-age/slice-of-life dramedy about a young boy, much in the same veign as "Unstrung Heroes" or "Butcher Boy" (sans horrorific elements) or "Simon Birch", or even "The Tin Drum"
The lad is named "Fraser" (pronounced just like tv's "Frasier"). He is a red- haired scottish boy with an unstoppable adventurous spirit, as presented in the film's prologue, during which the then 4-year old Fraser climbs out of the window of his family's mansion and crawls dangerously along the roof's ledge, while mother (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and father (Colin Firth) look on.
Years later, we witness what appeared to be a "year in the life" of the 10-year-old Fraser, whose oppressive Christian upbringing, conflicts with his own personal need for knowledge and experience. Fraser's father, Edward is an eccentric inventor type (ala John Turturro in "Unstrung Heroes") who at first seems to be the perfect father, but who we slowly learn is, as the Brits say, "thick". He preaches good Christian values, and warns his son of the dangers of "jazz music", but when his brother-in-law's beautiful new fiance, "Helouise" (Irene Jacob) arrives, Edward is immediately smitten with her, and attempts unsuccessfully to seduce his future sister-in-law. Angry that his father never teaches him "anything useful", and with his own youthful feelings stirring (also thanks to the arrival of the beautiful Helouise), Fraser embarks on a journey of self-education in his grandfather's (off-limits) private library, where he reads about all possible "temptations of the flesh" and later at the family dinner table, suggests that his mother and Helouise become prostitutes to raise money for the local church. Its a wonderful moment, but also the kind of moment you expect more of in a film like this. (Later, Fraser asks his father what "fellatio" is, mispronouncing the word in the process.)
There are plenty of other characters and subplots in the film, which runs just under 2 hours, but which some said felt like 3 hours. Some make sense, others are completely unexplained. There is a rivalry between Edward and his brother- in-law Morris (played by Malcolm MacDowell) regarding the control of the family estate, and its eventual inheritance. The moments where Fraser explores his blossoming sexuality seemed unfinished; perhaps because he is 10 years-old and not 14 or 15. The most potential comes when Fraser is being bathed by one of the housemaids. Unfinished are a subplot concerning a French flier who has caught the eye of the family's oldest daughter. (Actually I assume its the eldest daughter. I never figured out exactly how many children were contained in this family).
Nonetheless, despite such faults, the potential for the film seems limited to the art-house crowd only. "Merchant-Ivory" without the heavy-handed drama. Sometimes the Scottish accents used by the manor staff are as thick as in "Trainspotting" or "My Name Is Joe". The musical score was pretty much unmemorable, while the cinematography consistently catches the eye. Colin Firth is especially good as the flawed father figure. MacDowell doesn't have much to do, apart from play a completely nice guy for a change. There are lots of great moments onscreen here, but just as many unmemorable ones. Still, director Hudson gets the benefit of the doubt here. Back to the editing room, I assume.
---WAMO
