Wodehouse in Exile

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. What others have criticized as "cardboard, cartoonish and lifeless," I find as being consistent with characters being presented. An innocent man/child in a bewilderingly serious world he is not part of and can only marginally relate to.

Whether this characterization is accurate to the real man is almost irrelevant. The world is a dark place and the only way he can relate to it is by jokes and the only way he can cope is by describing its absurdities.

Hugely disagree with the one other reviewer on this site. That Wodehouse was too innocent to understand how the Nazis were using him also explains why he didn't blink an eye at Macintosh's anti-Semitic doings. Wodehouse was sequestered from the war by the Nazis. How was he to know what was happening? Absurd critique. And the movie is paced well, not too fast, certainly not too slow. Pigott-Smith is wonderful as Wodehouse, Zoe Wanamaker brilliant as his beloved, not-so-easily fooled wife. Julian Rhind-Tutt plays Malcolm Muggeridge, PUNCH editor, satirist, and Guardian writer. Flora Montgomery, once Ireland's EFP's Shooting Star, is lovely as Leonora, Wodehouse's (step)-daughter.

We needed this movie. An important subject... Macintosh was confusing as a character... The wife would of been hard to portray as she was a very strong woman and that was almost understated. Muggeridge was also confusing as was his flitting around Vichy France so easily. A bit more story is needed on this and how they ended up in Bellport NY the home of publishers and near Willie Hitler and his Wife's residence walking distance down the road. I hope there will be a second movie to show who they were along with their friendships with E. B. White and family. Also something about their lives in Remsenberg NY. So many characters surrounding them in the States leaves me wondering why they lived in France or maybe that the US and UK had made the plans for him to do his writings in France. So much of the story seems to be trying to make us believe something that may not at all be so simple leaving for motivations in the movie that are not believable. I hope more comes to light on Wodehouse and Wife before I depart.

It looks good and it's got great actors but it's just so boring!

This is an excellent class trying vainly to work with material that's almost a parody. Exposition dumps aplenty. Plus, Wodehouse was definitely cloistered but not as unworldly as this movie portrays him. He was anti-Semitic and aware of the businesses of theater and publishing. However all Wodehouse did for most of his life was sequester himself and write. I enjoyed Wodehouse reading his work to his fellow prisoners.