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 .

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.

An interesting period drama, but the narrator approach was a mistake. The pace is slow, but if the idea had been fully developed, it would have been more successful. A rushed and unconvincing ending. Worth seeing on TV, but not worth paying for!

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.