My Life So Far

It is rare to see a sweet and lovely movie but this is one ... a great way to spend the afternoon. A nice family story, although with really young kids you might have to explain some of the things "Wee Fraser" discovers up in his Grampa's attic. (Should you find your attention wandering and this not being your kind of movie, just fast-forward to the dinner scene and the very final scene: those two scenes should go down in movie history as the most adorable ever made!

(A Family Dinners will never be the same when you consider a little bit of knowledge gets a little out of hand --- and maybe dad does know best!)

This is a delightful movie. It's based on a man's nostalgic look backward at a slice of his childhood spent on a Scottish country estate in the 1920s. Narrated by the author as a ten-year-old boy, it recounts a period in which both he and his capricious father learn some important lessons about themselves and about each other.

There is little plot to speak of--just life unfolding variously in its sweetness and pain, often tinged with a delicious whimsy. Be warned, though, that much as you may be disposed to like the father, he is a flawed man; his pathetic and childish attitudes are often painfully embarrassing to the viewer. Also, sexual references permeate this film, and there is a strong suggestion that youthful sexual curiosity ought to be given free reign. Parents with a contrary view might wish to give it a look before showing it to their children.

The cinematography is excellent, deftly making the most of the fine Scottish landscape.

But the music--ah! The music is wonderful, from the first folk-tinged strain, through Beethoven and Saint-Saëns, to the Louis Armstrong ending. Few films are so musically satisfying.

The role of the childish and inarticulate father, Edward Pettigrew, is nicely developed by Colin Firth. Rosemary Harris is his aristocratic, but good-natured mother-in-law, who actually owns the estate inhabited by her daughter and Edward and their progeny; Harris handles her part with great understanding and humour. The children are natural and believable, and the servants are well-picked and quirky--their kitchen conversations add much warmth to this work.

For me, the ending credits revealed a lovely surprise: that the reflections of the boy, Fraser Pettigrew, actually come from a memoir written by Sir Denis Forman. I know that name well; Forman is also the author of my favorite opera guide, a cleverly designed, but funny and irreverent book appropriately titled, "The Good Opera Guide." (But don't be put off by the U.S. title, "A Night at the Opera"; it's a wonderful book by any name.)

Small wonder, then, that this movie has such a fine soundtrack.

Rating: 8 for the movie, 10 for the opera book.

This film had great potential, but it was too ambitious and tried to be too inclusive in telling the story. There are really two main story lines here: (1)Young Fraser's (Robbie Norman) coming of age and (2) His father Edward's (Colin Firth) misadventures.

Fraser's story (which the title implies is the point of the film) is fabulous. It is a whimsical and witty look at the coming of age of a ten year old boy in 1920's Scotland. He learns about sex by furtively studying his grandfather's books and pictures of unclad women. Put in the context of a completely naive ten year old mind, he develops some funny interpretations of the subject that are routinely and innocently blurted out in the presence of adults, usually to the mortification of his parents. This was a wonderful story and his journey to manhood should have been the subject of the entire movie.

The second story line was dull, and encumbered the film. This is the story of Fraser's father Edward. It centers around two key subplots. The first is his kooky childlike lifestyle, including crazy inventions and ineffective businesses. The second is his obsession with his Uncle Morris's (Malcolm McDowell) fiancée. Other subplots in this story line include a rivalry between Edward and Morris for the inheritance of the castle. This overly dramatic subplot bogs down the film ruins the comedic and mirthful elements provided in Fraser's story.

The cinematography was splendid, helped greatly by the beauty of the Scottish countryside and the magnificence of the Castle the family called home. Fortunately, there was a character with an airplane that gave director Hugh Hudson a convenient excuse to show aerial views of the castle and the countryside which were simply breathtaking. The photography in this film is reason enough to see it.

The acting was excellent. Though I wish the character had less emphasis, Colin Firth was excellent as Edward, the quirky father figure. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio gave a fine performance in a minor role as Moira, Edward's wife and the mother of his ten children. Once again, she had an opportunity to showcase her beautiful singing voice (see "Limbo" if you want to really hear her sing). Malcolm McDowell and Irene Jacob were also excellent as the uncle and aunt.

The best performance by far was that of Robbie Norman as young Fraser. He was full of innocent mischief and gave a convincing portrayal of the curiosity and nescience of youth.

I gave this film a 7/10. If you enjoy interesting character studies, slice of life films, beautiful scenery and comedy spawned of innocence, you will love this film. Had they stayed with the main story line, I probably would have given it a 10.

This is one of the least know, but most charming films I have ever scene.seen.

Every child deserves to have a father like Edward Pettigrew (Firth). As Frazier describes his father, " Father is an inventer and a genius!!!"

The film begins with a toddler Frazier, disliking his rest time, decides to have an adventure by crawling around the roof of the family castle in Argyll, Scotland. Father climbs down the steep roof with a rope attached to his waist and rescues wee Frazier, all the while barking like a dog. Frazier, (who makes comments throughout the film), observes that at that time in his life, he and his father ONLY communicated in DOG, the language they both spoke best.

Naturally the film has a romantic and potentially explosively moment between Father and his brother-in-law's fiance- a 24 year old French muscian who is quite beautiful and charming. She is also very wise for her years and managed to defuse the situation before it blows up. Never-the-less, the wife, played beautifully by Mary Elizabeth Mastreontonio, finds out at a crucial moment in the film and those rock-solid marriage nearly ends at a most tragic time in young Frazier's life.

But father, being a genius, finds a way to heal the wounds caused by his split-second decision to give in to his baser instincts. The WAY he gets his wife to forgive him and laugh again is pure magic.

Colin Firth never looked so handsome. Not even his glorious Mr. Darcy is so appealing. This role gives him the opportunity to show all his sides. His glorious, looney sense of humor as well as his gift for drama without words. Here he is active, leaping into a freezing cold Locke, running up and down stairs, inventing things, saving his son, dancing with his wife. He gets to laugh and cry and be HUMAN.

For those who discovered Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, My Life So Far is the glorious update!

My Life So Far in DVD has a place on honor in my collection of over 500 DVD's and VHS' One of my favorites, and, I hope soon to be yours.

Beautiful music fills the theater, and a view of a lovely castle, the light all brown and gold, then a children's room, curtains drawn for nap time, or "rest time, " a Gamma calls it. Fraser hates rest time. He pulls his bed over to the window, parts the curtains, climbs out the window and starts out on his housetop journey - the journey that brings his father, resplendent in tennis white and cream bounding up the stairs, long legs moving fast. And ends with Dad barking like a dog, and little son barking back until he is safely swept up into Edward's arms and hoisted high on the roof for all to see.

It is a wonderful beginning to a family saga. It manages to tell us almost everything about the kind of child Fraser is, and the kind of father he has -- Almost everything, but not all.

In the course of the film we see that Edward Pettigrew is many things, an inventor of hair brained gadgets, an exuberant dad to his children, a lover to his wife, a trial to his mother-in-law, a fool to his brother-in-law, a kind employer to the house staff. But most of all, he is a man with the heart of a child. There are times when the child Fraser is more mature than Edward the dad.

I never felt the film was fragmented, because the central theme, Edward's lust for Heloise, held the movie together, and gave it shape. And he DID lust for her, did something to her in the sphagnum moss storage room, something unwanted, and aggressive enough to take her choker from her neck, leave them both with moss clinging to their hair -- something to cause us to hear one wild scream from Heliose.

Edward's jealousy of Fraser's friendship with the beautiful Frenchwoman is a child's jealousy. Edward tries to push Fraser to the side; he vies with his son for Heloise's attention, and by his boorish, childlike actions, he opens himself to her public ridicule of him at table.

Colin Firth has one of his best roles here. He allows us to see a man with so many warring degrees of character - kindness and cruelty, foolishness and intelligence. And the man is funny too. There is a scene where he attempts to tell the facts of life to Fraser that is priceless. A perfect place for the stammer.

For the Firth fans of us, he is rugged of face and the liquid brown eyes have never been more expressive. There is one particular scene where you could drown in them! He is trim of body, walks the walk all over the heather, wears clothes to die for. There is one suit that he wore for hunting that I loved - dark brown with knickers, and with the most fetching brown slouch hat. And that Scottish accent! Divine!

Best of all, is a scene in pajamas, alone by the fire, the light playing on his face, his head back, a bit of suprasternal notch showing. Sighs were heard all up and down our row.

Yes, I liked it. Everyone was excellent in it. I particularly loved Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's sweet expressive face, and her singing voice is lovely. Robert Burns never sounded more haunting or romantic. McDowell was hard edged, not a likeable man, but one that loved his mother very much -- and his young wife. You could especially see that when Edward taunts him in the climatic scene. Young Fraser is a natural, and I thought his discoveries in his grandfather's attic, and his obsession with "sins of the flesh," very real for a bright ten year old in 1920 who was never told any of the things he really wanted to know. The Louie Armstrong/jazz/cigar/brandy snifter scene shown in the trailer becomes much sweeter and sadder when you see the film. There is an extra ingredient that makes it so.

I wanted to be a guest in that house where smokes billows from the lawn, the master rides around in tiny inflatable boats, or tank like vehicles, where lovers waltz in their nightclothes in the rain. Where eccentricity is treated with forbearance -- until Eve enters the scene and changes the family forever.

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