L'honneur des Winslow

Arthur Winslow is the head of a respectable London family, however this threatens to change when his young son is expelled from military school for stealing a postal order worth 5 shillings. Winslow risks his wealth and his family to pursue justice for his son. However when the military court of appeal rejects him he has to appeal to the highest court in the land through MP Sir Morton.

A turn of the century English drama may not be the subject you'd expect Mamet to tackle but here he does and he brings his usual skill for writing with him. The characters are very well developed and manage to be very easy to get to know even with the very polite and guarded dialogue. The characters and dialogue need to be good because much of the drama takes place in stilted conversations or off-screen. The plot managed to keep me fascinated throughout due to the strong original story and the good writing. Sadly the film loses something by keeping the main drama off screen (the court cases etc) and this can be quite annoying and slightly sullies the water.

The talented cast has plenty to work with and do very well indeed. Hawthorne revels in this type of role and does the gradual decline very well. Northam, Pidgeon, Jones etc do well – all manage to deliver very Merchant-Ivory style performances without having the cold edge that those films tend to have. This is partly Mamet's writing and direction but also the talents of a good cast.

Overall this is not typical Mamet fare and many of his fans may struggle with the sheer Englishness of it, but those not put off will find that the characters and dialogue are as strong as ever and the story is gripping even if the off-screen action sometimes appears to be more interesting that what we are allowed to see.

Sometimes the best films you see are the ones you've never heard about. I saw this one sitting on the shelf of my local video store and rented it on a lark.

This is an adaptation of a play written by the late Terence Rattigan ("The Browning Version," "Separate Tables"). Here it is brought to the screen by another famous playwright, David Mamet, who wrote the screenplay and directed this film. It concerns the true story of a young boy who was expelled from the British Naval Academy early in the twentieth century for allegedly stealing a postal order.

This movie is very much a play put onto film. The sets are almost exclusively interior and the action is carried forward through dialogue. Events not at hand are explained through theatrical devices such as reading a letter or someone remarking on what's happened. At times I wished the director had made it more of a movie but it's still a very good film, mainly because the key actors are so good.

Mamet's wife, Rebecca Pidgeon, plays Catherine Winslow, the little boy's older sister. She's an outspoken but gentle woman who's strongly in favor of women's rights. Jeremy Northam plays Sir Robert Morton, the lawyer and member of the House of Commons who takes the Winslow case. He's outwardly reserved but inside he's as passionate about justice as Catherine. Both of these actors give outstanding performances. And as you might expect, there's a little romance suggested between the two by the end of the film.

I wish I knew more about the Winslow case because the film assumes you know most of the facts already. It must have been an important event in early twentieth century British history because they've made several films about it, including one made in 1948 with Robert Donat (Sir Robert Morton), Margaret Leighton (Catherine), and Cedric Hardwicke (the boy's father) that I'll have to see. There must be nuances about the relationship between the government and the common man in this case that are only hinted at here.

Very good entertainment and the acting will knock you off your feet.

What a brilliant film, just seen it on TV. Trailer in the UK press called it "emotion among the upper classes". Odd, because it's about a not-very-rich MIDDLE

class family's fight against the UPPER class establishment. "Let right be done" - their case about the theft of a few shillings ends up exposing the unfairness of military tribunals and possibly changes the process. Their lack of money to

carry on the fight is essential to the story. Catherine loses her dowry (and

fiancee). Her brother has to quit university for a dull job. Also, though their upper lips remain stiff, their warm affection and loyalty as a family is obvious. Acting and directing are great. And that last line, oh wow! xxx

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit right off that I have never read the Terence Rattigan play from which this film is derived. Therefore, my evaluation of it purely concerns the film itself. I saw the movie during its brief stint in American theaters, and I was very surprised. It is the sort of film that I was amazed made it into Anerican movie theaters at all. It is neither fast-moving nor action-packed, and it contains no sexual content or violence. It centers around a functional British family and has very little romance. It does, however, address many issues and has a great deal of sophisticated humor.

Rebecca Pidgeon's performance was particularly memorable. She had the perfect combination of restraint and sarcasm. I have heard complaints about her-that she was too stiff and lackluster, but I found her character very believable. Perhaps this is because I come from a close, sarcastic family myself. The Winslows came off as very attached to each other, but their Britishness prevented them from being mushy.

I would definitely not recommend this movie to everyone. It is a very specific type of film and probably would be enjoyed by someone who is a fan of slow-paced, dialogue-driven period pieces or by someone who is a bibliophile. It is an unusual film, but I personally think it is pure gold.

First I'd like to thank David Mamet for recognizing the remarkable similarity between Jeremy Northam and the late great Robert Donat and then putting it to impeccable use in The Winslow Boy. Donat has been missing for far too long from the cable stations and video rental lists. I'm getting a campaign started to force Amc and TMC to bring back all the old Donat films such as the original version of The Winslow Boy, Count of Monte Cristo, etc. First I'd like to state that by comparing Mr. Northams' performance to Mr. Donats' that I'm in no way diminishing it. On the contrary I find that his ability to evoke the memory of Donat lies in an amazing talent and an astounding technique. His first appearance in The Winslow Boy more than satisfied my glee at the casting of him in this role. When he first steps into the view of the camera, glimpses Catherine and then holds his legal files against him as if to shield his nakedness,( he is of course only naked in the sense that he is not entirely appropriately dressed without his tailcoat)my heart leapt at the thought that I was in for a deja vu movie experience. Excellant direction by Mr. Mamet.I was further pleased throughout the film to realize that although he was pulling out all the wonderful Donatisms, I never once for a moment doubted his sincerity in the role. He was Sir Robert and he was at that moment truely smitten. Mr. Northams' ability to let you see his characters thoughts is so finally tuned he hardly needs his own remarkable gift with dialogue. Other fabulous Donat moments from the film: His court room orations, "No sir' I will not stand down", very reminiscent of Young Mr. Pitt and his stuttering admonition not to "endow an unimportant incident with a romantic significance."Richard Hannay and Mr. Chips are alive and well. And don't get me started on the sexuality of the cigarette smoking.Also check out on the video his uncanny ability to match his shots in cuts on action.

Well thats enough about Mr Northams riveting multi-leveled performance. Mr Mamets restrained, precise, intelligent direction, breathed such vital life in to this 53 yr. old stage play that I'm eager to see what else he has planned. And how many other actors are lining up to work with him. This is a director who knows what he wants. Most of you have already pointed so many of this films tremendous merits I won't be redundant by repeating them. That is after all Mr. Mamets gig. But to the others of you who claimed to of missed the point or couldn't see the tension, drama or eroticism than all I have to say to you is,stuffy, wordy, Edwardian drawing room drama, my aunt Fannie. How little you know about movie viewing.