L'Habilleur

There's superb acting in this deep and powerful drama, adapted to the screen by Ronald Harwood, based on his own play, and ably directed by Richard Eyre. It will probably appeal only to a certain slice of viewers, those that can get into a deliberately paced and dialogue driven film and are not looking for an action flick.

The lead actors here Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Emily Watson, and Sarah Lancashire are all excellent in their roles. with a fine supporting cast enhancing the movie. To be honest, I hadn't heard of Lancashire before, but she was quite amazing in a very understated performance, and one scene with Hopkins was truly mesmerizing.

All in all, I found this film became even more powerful as it progressed and with its superb acting, writing, and direction can certainly be recommended for those that like a heavy and most well presented drama.

The Dresser in my country is not a popular movie. As a young movie freak, I don't know this kind of movie until Lionsgate Play application coming up on my Apple TV+ app. So here is my review: The storyline of "The Dresser" somehow connected with the role of dresser and his presence to convince an old under-rated actor in ordinary theater in London, so the actor can remember the dialogue and re-motivated on his acting purposes. Sometimes the actor (played by Sir Anthony Hopkins) is being demotivated by himself. Then he can't love everybody around him. The Dresser (played by Sir Ian McKellen), is always there to support him. For me this movie is a moment of dramatic scene that I've been waiting for between McKellen & Hopkins. They are both senior actors, Sir-s, and having lead roles in any kind of movie. Their mature acting makes this movie beautiful ly wrapped with low-budget assumption, because the location is only in 1 (one theater), with the whole corridors and the preparation on the actor's room. A worth it movie to be watched. Thank you Lionsgate Play app.

My goodness, you don't get better than this. Tony Hopkins and Ian McKellen are perfectly cast in this authentic feeling take on travelling theatre during the second world war. Ill and aged, 'Sir' has premonitions, Norman (the Dresser) is desperate to hang on to what little life he has as Sir's most trusted aide. Without his role he has nothing. Norman is so caught up in his own anxieties he misses the clues to Sir's nagging self-doubts, his statements that 'he can't go on' and that 'really he should be resting at home'. Hopkins's portrayal is so subtle it is heart rending. This subtlety cannot be gained on stage as stray tears cannot be seen from the stalls let alone the gallery. McKellen, meanwhile, fusses and flaps with perfectly understood gay mannerisms for the period setting. As Norman, he gets perfectly right the intonation in his voice as he ducks and bows to Sir. These two actors provide stand out performances but this is not to commend all the other actors who also pull off incredibly touching and believable performances. Oh yes, this is worth watching, just be prepared to be left bereft.

This film tells the story of a man who dresses actors for a play in a theatre back in the second world war. He tries his hardest to convince the ailing lead actor to continue playing King Lear, and witnesses powerful human interactions along the way.

It's remarkable that I haven't heard of "The Dresser" before, given the fact that it has heavyweight actors Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins. The film is a single location film, featuring only indoors of a theatre. There are times I wish I could see the sunshine or some plants and nature, as the colour scheme is all brown and dark. The story itself is slow, but very dialogue heavy. There was a time when I thought the film was about to end, it turned out that I have only been watching for thirty minutes! The film felt long and slightly tedious, but the ending makes up for it. It is certainly a night to remember for the actors of the theatre.

It's strange how a movie like THE DRESSER can echo through your memory, as I watched this well made and elegant made for STARZ version I enjoyed greatly the performances of Hopkins and McKellen and also the strong support from Vanessa Kirby and Edward Fox. However, echoes of the original movie with Albert Finney and Tom Courtney kept flooding back, Finney was a force of nature as Sir and Courtney felt much more heightened and on edge than McKellen who often appeared to be consciously downplaying Norman. There is much to like here but if you are new to The Dresser maybe you watch the Peter Yates movie first.