Mr. Burton

Classy but long & slow Brit drama "Mr Burton" is the true origin story of Welsh '60s-'70s film megastar Richard Burton (Harry Lawtey - excellent), son of deabeat dad Staffan Rhodri, raised by sister Aimee-Ffion Edwards, and nutured into a theatrical force by titular teacher Toby Jones (quietly strong) who took the teen under his wing, had him lodge at his same lodging house (under Lesley Manville), and eventually even adopted him to give him the shot he'd never otherwise have had. The debut screenplay of Tom Bullough & Josh Hyams covers a lot (over 2hrs+) which experienced director Marc Evans brings home well. It's not adenaline fuelled, but is a worthy & interesting film.

The incredible story of how Rich Jenkins, a young man from a poor family in Port Talbot became a multi award winning Hollywood star.

It's fair to say this is my kind of film, but knowing Burton's story pretty well, it was interesting to see how they decided to translate it onto the big screen.

Without sounding sentimental, it's a lovely, heartwarming movie, it's uplifting and emotional, a young Burton seemed to have everything against him, his troubled father, poverty, even the country itself, but somehow he overcome the odds.

It is beautifully made, it looks terrific, the sets and clothes look terrific, they did their best with the CGI.

Toby Jones and Lesley Manville do what they do best, they deliver, I know Harry Lawtey well from the wonderful BBC series Industry, I thought he did a very fine job.

The first cinema film I've seen for some time that's made me want to order the blu ray.

8/10.

We did not know what to expect with this film. We watched it in a little cinema in South Wales to set the scene.

The casting was spot on. Lesley Toby and Harry are superb, there is no over acting, everyone's accents are just right.

The directing and atmosphere is all you ever want. Such a lovely experience. Would honestly have been a score of 10/10 if the distant scenery and Port Talbot cgi was of a much higher standard. But all in all a very big Thank You.

Did I say Lesley Toby and Harry are superb, no over acting, accents are just right. The directing and atmosphere is all you ever want. Such a lovely experience. Would have been 10/10 if scenery and Port Talbot cgi was a higher standard. But Thank You.

Despite being a bit lop-sided, this is still quite a poignant story of the young Richard Jenkins (Harry Lawtey) who has been living with his elder sister and her husband since his mother died whilst he was an infant. His dad (Steffan Rhodri) worked hard down the mines then boozed hard afterwards, and so the young lad was largely neglected by him as he grew to curious manhood. He was interested at school, liked to read and sing and play rugby - and that attracted the attention of his teacher Burton (Toby Jones). He was a scholarly man, but a frustrated Thesp, who had lodged for many a year with the widowed "Ma" (Lesley Manville) and wrote scripts for BBC Radio. It was this latter man's determination to get his young protégé to focus, knuckle down and learn how to say "here" properly that serves as the thrust of the plot here and allows both Jones and the impressive Lawtey to give us not just an illustration of Burton's conflict and potential, but also a glimpse into just how valued education was at a time when families lived on the poverty line and working at the pit from an early age was a necessity that made schooling a luxury. It takes a few liberties with the facts of their relationship and sows some suggestive seeds about what might have driven both men, but for the most part it's an interesting character study of a troubled man who quite possibly didn't know how to be loved. The conclusion is all a bit rushed, we do jump ahead quite substantially in the last ten minutes and those missing years do rather leave a gap in his transition from geeky student to Stratford celebrity, but with a generous contribution from Manville to help guide us through this turbulent period for him, his teacher and his country this is at the better end of television biopics, and with Lawtey acting rather than trying to mimic the original, is worth a watch.

I didn't know what I was expecting from this film, but It is absolutely superb.

At first I wasn't sure that Harry Lawtey as Burton had the presence needed for such a huge role, by then end I was wondering if he may well win an Oscar for his performance.

Also starring Toby Jones and Lesley Manville, two of the finest actors around and both as excellent as expected, although Manville slightly underused in my opinion.

Rounding out a superb cast are Anuerin Barnard and Aimee-Ffion Edwards again both excellent.

Knowing the story of old It's a true life feel good movie showing how having belief in someone with no agenda pays off handsomely and is very inspiring.

The scenes in Taibach, Port Talbot and surrounding areas are fascinating to see how they've caught that moment in time with the steelworks spewing out the pollution that so blighted the landscape.

The best film i've seen in a long time and is a must see.