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Timothy Spall is not a name that fills movie headlines. But he is a face that is probably well known to cinema lovers. He is one of those pure character actors - a British one - who manifestly enriches film after film with an interesting depth and proficiency that would be sorely missing were he not present.
He is the title figure here. He delivers a film and a masterful performance that is a profound pleasure to watch.
This is the biographical story of a modern day hangman. One of the professional executioners employed mid20th century by the British penal system to issue the final measure of capital justice. A prolific legal killer who balances a high degree of excellence, dignity, celebrity and sanity in the purest execution of duty.
I find lots of these bio-pics to be simplistic, frequently patronizing. This one is none of that. It is intelligent, historically informative and a genuinely uplifting view of a full, fascinating personality.
The film is well written, smartly directed and chock full of accomplished acting all around.
Recommended.
Follow Ups:
Wonderful in Topsy Turvy. In fact, he's been something of Mike Leigh regular...also appearing in Secrets and Lies and Life Is Sweet. he has tremendous range, given the opportunity.
You can see him shortly in the new Harry Potter, as well as the forthcoming Alice In Wonderland. He's also starring in something with Maggie Smith called From Time To Time that should be coming out this year or next. As a gifted character actor, Spall never seems to lack for work, in either movies or on TV, and I love it when he gets a role that lets him show his range.
nt
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
Topsy Turvy and the scene in Chariot of Fire...
From Fagin to a voice on Grand Theft Auto he can and does do it all utterly convincingly...just a masterful actor.
J.B.
he was by far the best actor in the movie Rock Star.
"The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I ordered it.
Thanx
... Enchanted! He is a top actor although I have to say, without knowing the life story of Albert Pierrepoint, that I consider him having to hang his good friend would have been chronic bad luck and suspect it was overplayed in the screenplay for dramatic effect.
That said, I would still recommend it for the performances and the insight.
...is gracefully handled, cinematically speaking. And if the viewer is unaware, as was I, of the full story one of the few "surprises" in the film.
Timothy Spall is in "Secrets And Lies", one of my very favorite films. He's a terrific actor.
..most recently, again, in The Sheltering Sky. A plodding movie, really, occasionally energized by the appearance of Spall and a few other bit players.
I put him in the company of his contemporary British greats.... Caine, Hopkins, Oldman, Kingsley, Day-Lewis, Finney, etc.
disturbing skewering of the bored upper classes whose fascination with sensuality destroyed many of them.
The languid nature of Bowles was perfectly captured by Bertolucci and I thought it remains Malkovich's greatest performance. Winger, however, I found horribly miscast. Big agreement on Spall: memorable!
I love tasting the cultural, spiritual and geographic flavors of that part of the world. The book captures that exotically (and erotically) well enough for me, although it has a straightforwardness that is disconcerting
I found all three leads in the movie to be misplaced, consequently detached from the story, and from each other. As if they were just playing types instead of characters. I never felt any of the sexuality, tired or otherwise. These people were simply bored, ultimately boring, as played on screen.
I like Malkovich and can always enjoy his acting. But, when he is deprived of the opportunity for irony, as here, I think, he becomes undirectable and his imminent subtleties are hard to reason in the larger context. I don't see a strong directorial hand on any of the characters.
The director paid more attention to the incidentals than to the heart of the story.
Contrast the main characters to Spall as a small but electric presence on screen. His shenanigans as a precious, hen-pecked but crafty son/thief/trickster were just a delight. I couldn't wait to see what he would come up with next. His mother was an accomplished presence while on-screen, no matter who she played scene with. And, in great portions of the film theirs was the most interesting contribution to continuity.
There were other flashes of little brilliance. The insider visuals, the pacing. On balance, the film was less than I'd expected and hoped for.
I'll take instead, for instance, The Passenger. And another Italian director. Again and again, over this one.
with the vastness of the desert, was fierce. I think the decaying of the relationship, though it obviously concealed strong feelings, was riveting.
The journey after the death also captivated me. I'm a Berto man. I very much love The Passenger but they're very different stories, very different story-telling styles by two geniuses.
..was largely one of indifference. No evidence of passion, past or present. Not even tired, just a practiced laziness of spirit. No ambition for betterment much less a thought or effort towards it.
I believed little of what they conveyed, and cared about them commensurately. The male foil was forgettable.
My final point was that for my dose of north Africa and potent portrayals of alienation and social estrangement I'll take that one from Antonioni. I like Bertolucci but this is hardly among his best.
I will watch The Passenger many more times. I doubt I'll want to watch The Sheltering Sky ever again.
wait to see it again.
The cinematography alone is worth the voyage, for me.
BTW, your comments about the mom are spot-on, she was delicious and their interactions were incendiary.
Your perspective always gives me reason to pause and reconsider.
You're right about the cinematography. It is one of the brilliant "incidentals". Bertolucci was good on the eye. It's hard to name an Italian director who isn't.
Genius? Antonioni, yes; Bertolucci, not so much. LOL!
in their respective subjects, i.e. political/historical commentary; alienation of modern man.
Actually, as I reflect a tad more, that first category has another Bernardo contender, "The Last Emperor."
Those three masterpieces, I'd argue, favorably compare with the best of Michaelangelo. And then I'd add, "The Sheltering Sky."
"1900," mind you, for all of its flaws, is still a tremendous effort and is a failure only by the very high standards of his other works.
Your very different opinions also have given me new insights: I look forward to the Spall film.
I won't dispute any of this. I need to get back to all three top picks you mention.
Yeah, Bertolucci is a giant.
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