| COMPLEAT FEMALE STAGE BEAUTY : Stephen Frears' 'Mrs Henderson Presents' [6/10] |
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| Thursday, 01 December 2005 | |
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Undemandingly entertaining and unashamedly old-fashioned in almost every department, cosy wartime showbiz tale Mrs Henderson Presents should, despite ('tasteful') nudity, a saucy theme and a couple of instances of strong language, prove perfect fare at 'pensioners' matinees' and 'silver screen' showings all over the country for months to come. Younger audiences - i.e. anyone under than 65 - may find it tolerable enough if they catch it on TV one rainy afternoon a few years down the line. Even so, the film provides further evidence (after Dirty Pretty Things) to support the contention that, of all the 'big name' British film-makers currently working, few provide such anonymous, perfunctory, by-the-numbers competence as Stephen Frears. Not so much a director as a glorified 'script-filmer', Frears isn't really such a bad match for this amiable bit of nonsense - and he sensibly turns the whole thing into a showcase for his leading lady Judi Dench. She's by far the best thing about the picture as Laura Henderson, a 70-year-old widow long resident in India and facing up to life alone in late-30s London. Rapidly tiring of embroidery, charity committees and the like, she impulsively decides to buy the West End's dilapidated Windmill Theatre and, ignorant of what she calls "the show business," hires out-of-work impresario Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to run the operation. This eventually takes the risque 'Moulin Rouge' route of displaying nude women on the stage: though theoretically illegal, the nakedness is permitted by the Lord Chamberlain - effectively the government's artistic censor - Lord Cromer (a wobbly-accented Christopher Guest), so long as the girls don't move. The tableau vivant naughtiness proves a popular draw, an especially big hit with servicemen when World War II breaks out. But German bombs - and an increasingly nervous Lord Cromer - threaten the Windmill with closure... Dench isn't exactly stretched here as a formidable, sprightly aristo whose ebullient exterior hides the painful grief she still feels decades after the death of her soldier son in the First World War. Her sterling work nevertheless looks set to yield yet another Oscar nomination - and pundits reckon she may well be joined on the big night by Hoskins and costume-designer Sandy Powell, the latter providinng an impressive range of period garb for the game cast. Notable in support are Kelly Reilly as spirited blonde starlet Maureen, plus a pair of big-screen debutants best known for their work in other fields: Coronation Street and Dinnerladies star Thelma Barlow as Laura's best pal Lady Conway, and - at the other end of the age scale - chart-topping singer Will Young. The Pop Idol winner's scrubbed-clean looks fit the period like a dapper white glove, and he engagingly channels Ivor Novello as the ensemble's multi-talented leading man Bertie. It's a shame that such a bright ensemble should be stuck with such a lacklustre script: veteran playwright Martin Sherman is responsible for a shapeless, episodic affair that lacks dramatic impetus until well into the final act. Rather too much time is spent on Henderson and Van Damm's bickering relationship, with an especially protracted and silly falling-out that bogs things down around the midway point. The screenplay's deficiencies, added to Frears' dull safe-hands approach, should in theory add up to disappointing misfire of a movie. The fact that they somehow don't is testament to the efforts of Dench and company - keeping the show afloat in a manner which their real-life counterparts would undoubtedly applaud. Neil Young 1st December, 2005 MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS : [6/10] : UK (UK/US) 2005 : Stephen FREARS : 103 mins seen at Cineworld cinema, Sunderland (UK), 1st December 2005 - public show |
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