The Tichborne Claimant

British period dramas aren't normally my thing , but since this is the first film i ever saw in a test screening , i thought i would give it a mention.

The titchbourne claimant is a slow moving, by the numbers period drama that does have 2 good performances - if your willing to stick around for them . John kani does well in his role as the solem faced valet bogel as does robert pugh as the slob turned aristocrat claimant .

These are strong points in an other wise dull film.

The film seemed more suited to television as a drama special rather than an official cinema release but because its so unremarkable It probably would not have mattered .

British period pieces typically suffocate under the dull weight of precise costumes and historically accurate settings, offering nothing but boring, predictable and comforting aesthetics. Here is a stronger number, true to the tired genre but beyond it -- a period piece with strong, well-developed themes and balanced, multidimensional characters liberated from crusty, faux bourgeois literariness. Aside from haunting, perfectly pitched performances, it examines questions that matter: What constitutes personality? What constitutes class? Is one contingent on the other? If a "coarse" man can be transformed into a convincing "gentleman," what is he really? And if the class boundaries are truly porous and arbitrary, what is their true function and purpose? Don't let the superficially "Masterpiece Theatre"-ish trappings fool you -- this mysterious, stimulating picture has a pulse.

When Sir Roger Tichborne is lost at sea he is feared dead but his mother believes him alive and living in Australia. Sending her youngest son and butler (Andrew Bogle) to Australia to find him, plans are ruined when her son drinks himself to dead with his newfound freedom. When Bogle appeals for money for the passage home he finds himself forgotten and asked to 'start a new life'. With this in mind, Bogle sets out to find a ringer for Roger Tichborne and return to claim (and share) his part in the estate. With the long sea voyage to prepare, Bogle applies the extra work needed to turn his impostor into the real deal, but will they be able to carry it off?

With an intriguing premise from the very start, this film delivers an occasionally comic story that is enjoyable if a little forced. The plot is fairly ordinary from the start but still is interesting enough to engage. If anything it is in the later stages where it pushes into an out of the ordinary plot that it becomes a bit exaggerated and not as enjoyable as a result but by that point I was into the story enough to stick with it. It has a certain amount of humour but it is more gently amusing rather than hilariously funny and it is this that helps the drama play out pretty well. This is not to suggest it is a great film because it isn't that great but it is lively enough to be enjoyable.

The characters are a fair part of this because the main two are the focus of the film and the source of both drama and comedy. Bogle is a good character who is delivered with dry wit by the actor John Kani. His delivery can often seem lacking in life but for my money it was well pitched to be the firm base of the film. Pugh has a much more lively character and plays it well drawing out the comic side of the material well. He manages with the more obvious pratfalls as well as the more serious side of the film. These two are the heart of the film and they deliver well enough to cover the weaknesses in the material, but it can only help to have a colourful support cast that includes small roles and cameos for a hatful of famous faces ranging from Stephen Fry, John Gielgud, Robert Hardy, Dudley Sutton right down to the rather more unusual finds of Anita Dobson.

Overall this is an enjoyable and engaging little story that manages to cover up the fact that it never really convinces when it needs to. The story has nice comic touches to it as well as having enough in the way of drama to it to keep the interest. The delivery from the lead two is nicely done despite some reservations and the support cast are as good as one would expect from those involved.

Lacking in originality - it didn't match up to the Return of Martin Guerre; there are many acclaimed examples showing the decay and corruption of the aristocracy. Even in terms of the implied racism relating to how the manservant is treated by the Tichborne family says nothing new. The all star cast retrieves a little for the film - there are excellent cameos from John Gielgud as the judge and Stephen Fry as the barrister for the Tichbornes. Their performances excel in clarifying the bias of the legal system. A disappointing film, a thin story line with little to commend it. Watchable as a TV slot, not a 'must have', let alone an evening out.