Page 55 - BR-March-2018

March 2018 March 2018

OBITUARIES MILBORNE MOVIES

when people can appear on TV talking about “their passion for March 2nd Milborne Movies is showing
quinoa”, I mean passion. He was probably the only man I know who 'Victoria and Abdul". This is the
could accurately rig a man’o’war of Nelson’s fleet. I don’t think I am extraordinary (mostly) true story of an
exaggerating when I call him a world-class expert. His library of books on the unexpected friendship in the later years of
subject is full of his own corrections. Nelson, and the Royal Navy during Nelson’s Queen Victoria's (Academy Award winner
time, was a love which remained with him to the end. Judi Dench) remarkable rule. When Abdul
Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from
And how he was good at woodworking!. When we were children, in Norway,
he single-handedly designed, then built a sailing boat. Every single aspect of India to participate in the Queen's Golden
this he did himself. Fascinated, as a four year old, I watched him steam planks Jubilee, he is surprised to find favour with
of wood to get the precise curvature he needed. And I watched him sand, the Queen herself. As the Queen questions
caulk and varnish this entirely wooden boat until it almost glowed. Nor did we the constrictions of her long-held position,
just sail in the fjord, we took it out to sea. He sold the boat when we left Norway, the two forge an unlikely and devoted
but for the rest of his active life he was a much appreciated sailing companion. alliance with a loyalty to one another that
her household and inner circle all attempt
He built us wooden chests, even if my brother had to wait a few decades for his to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the
to be finished. We should be honest that he wasn’t always the best at finishing Queen begins to see a changing world
a project. If anyone wants an C18 horse drawn sleigh, which we witnessed him through new eyes.
th
buy as a “barn find” from a Danish farmer 45 years ago, and the renovation of
"This film is a complete delight. I went along
which he never quite completed, please see my brother Marki and myself
afterwards. without great expectations.... a worthy film I thought I should go and see to write
a worthy review about. But I was entranced from beginning to end. It's probably
He made model ships and wooden whales for the bathtub for us as children, best described as a comedy drama... always a difficult trick for a movie-maker to
and then in turn for our children. pull off. But here in the competent hands of director Stephen Frears ("Florence
Foster Jenkins") the comedy is both very, VERY funny, with the drama also being
I have a walking stick collection as I need to use a stick. It was only after he’d
made me a really lovely stick, that I found out that he’d secretly measured my extremely moving. And crucially the transition between the two never feels
forced.
other sticks to get the length right. When I told him that Kingsley kept stealing it,
he made another in the right size for him. And I was deeply moved to find, not Above all, this is an acting tour de force for Dame Judi, reprising her role as the
only the steam-engined model ship he’d been building for Kingsley, but elderly queen from "Mrs Brown" which (shockingly!) is now 20 years old. I know its
another two walking sticks in his size. early in the season to be placing bets, before having seen any of the other major
contenders, but Dench's "insanity" speech screams "Oscar reel" to me. Her
Visual arts were another passion. I am not best qualified to talk about this as performance is masterly from beginning to end.
even my stick men are embarrassingly bad, as my brother delights in telling me,
but not only has this talent and passion been passed on to Marki, Marki’s own Rather overshadowed by Dench is the relative newcomer to western cinema Ali
son Daniel has the same skills and interest in the Fazal (he had a role in the "Furious 7" film). But his performance is almost as
subject, something that I know gave our father great impressive, bringing the warmth and compassion to the supporting role that is so
joy. And Natalie has certainly got his eyes, if not quite sorely needed if the overall balance of the film is to be maintained.
his eye for art yet.
Another star of the show is the Scottish countryside, ravishingly photographed by
He loved painting and drawing and the house is also Danny Cohen ("Florence Foster Jenkins", "Room") with this film probably doing
full of art books. As a child, I traipsed around art more for the Scottish Tourist Board than any paid for advertising could ever do!
exhibitions beside him, never quite sharing his intensity,
until I took him to the Pont exhibition at the Cartoon Overall this is a true delight of a film, perfectly balanced, brilliantly acted." [Bob-
Museum, and the last big Hogarth Exhibition. We both the-movie-man]

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