To Olivia

I have been waiting over a year for this one. Having grown up in the 80's Roald Dahl childhood stories were a staple, then as an adult I'm still attached to the film versions. The film gave me precisely what I wanted. A gorgeous story about Roald Dahl and his family through a difficult time, during the writing of one of my favourite of his books. Hugh Bonneville was perfect as Dahl, and the relationship between him and his wife was full of warmth, love, and humour, which really drew me in from the start. There were plenty of hints towards origins of his many books, but not overdone which would have made it feel forced. There were no long drawn out sections, which I often feel there are in these sort of films, and I thought the pace was perfect for the subject matter. I will definitely be watching it again. I'm only disappointed that it hasn't got the big cinema release it deserves!

Hugh Bonneville is excellent as Dahl, even looks like him, and Keeley does a workmanlike job as Patricia Neal but there's little to enjoy about the film really. It's largely factual so a good way to learn more about Dahl's life. I've given it 7 as I can't really fault the acting but it's a pretty gloomy piece all in all.

One of the first , if not the first book I ever read was Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. A brilliant book that I still hold dear to my heart . Ronald Dahl had a fantastic talent that not many authors had but there is so much about the man that I never knew . Until now

In 1962, Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl retreat to the English countryside to bring up their young family. The seemingly unlikely pair find their relationship put to the test by a tragic loss.

Firstly I had no idea that he was married to Patricia Neal . The sultry older woman to Paul Newman's Hud . A brilliant film that I only watched for the first time this year .

Secondly i didn't know about the tragedy in his life and how it affected him and his family so badly.

Although this does delve into the writing of Charlie and the Chocolate factory and the Patricia's Oscar winning performance in Hud , this is more about family and their grief .

It's about dealing with bereavement of a daughter and and how they got through the worst thing that can happen to a family .

Hugh Bonneville is great as Dahl as is Keeley Hawes as Patricia Neal.

The prosthetics on Bonneville take a little getting used to but you can see why they did it because the last thing you want is Roald Dahl to be a Robert Crawley from Downtown Abbey.

I really liked this and I can't quite get my head around the low ratings it has got . Perhaps I was more invested in the story that most people ?

I really enjoyed this movie, despite the sad story. I thought the performances by Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes were outstanding as was the young girl who played Tessa. Sam Heughan as Paul Newman had a small part but wow, he certainly embodied Mr. Newman perfectly. I wanted more scenes between Keeley and Heughan. A very enjoyable movie.

I don't want to say to much about what happens, I suppose the trailer does say. This is a film about a famous couple in the 60's dealing with their grief when losing a child. The pain, the loss the love. A loving family trying to pick up the pieces, to regain their strength and stay a family for the rest of their children. This is a moving and sad movie but really good about a very famous couple. Very well acted by all the cast.