The Winslow Boy
Directed by David Mamet
starring : Jeremy Northam, Rebecca Pidgeon and Nigel Hawthorne
playing at selected theaters - hunt for it!
*  *  *  *    (four stars)
no time to read the whole review?
THE JIST of MY PROSE
A truly delectable period piece - existing in it's own world, hemmed by the master, David Mamet - taking a step back from his usual territory to explore what happens when a 10 year old boy is accused of stealing a postal note for a remarkably small amount. Mamet's choice and careful treatment of the play is both addictive and eloquent - and the film follows.

‘The Winslow Boy’ is a film that benefits from and exists in it’s eloquence.
This is the latest offering from David Mamet: devoid of greed, violence,
profanity and the exacting drawl that distinguishes his films from other films.
It’s a really refreshing departure when all is said and done. Here we have the
perfect example of how a play can be a great film. When the screenplay is
adapted with attention to what makes the play great, but tinkered with to keep
a filmgoer captivated - we have magic. When the film was over, I felt as if I
had been transported to a middleground between the reality of my $5.00 seat
and the surreality of the images depicted in my head. The film is riveting
beyond the norm..

From the first frame you are utterly transported into the conflict which is
unfolding on screen and feel the need to understand it from every angle.
Mamet paints each of his characters as needy - all need something from the
situation within the film and all sacrifice something and in the end, there is a
compromise of need and sacrifice in each of them. This kind of introspection
gives us lasting characters that make for a film that’s so easy to delve into, it
becomes shelter for the duration of your stay in it’s world. It’s got traditional
Mamet touches such as the whisper (to conceal specifics and preserve
abstraction), a deep attention to allusion and subtlety (to keep everything
existing in a form of art) and the “marketable” lines, which are lines that after
you hear them, you can’t help but grill over, repeat and cherish.

Jeremy Northam and Rebecca Pidgeon (Mrs. Mamet) are absolutely
brilliant. Nigel Hawthorne, who continues to dazzle us with performance
after performance of stature, wit and faded honesty - brings forth the
obsession of his character with that methodical mental process he embodies
with absolute calm. He is a determined man that keeps everything on the
simplest level, stated eloquently and brought off to the best of his satisfaction.

This film embodies the same kind of genius.

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