My Life So Far

This is a delightful movie. It's based on a man's nostalgic look backward at a slice of his childhood spent on a Scottish country estate in the 1920s. Narrated by the author as a ten-year-old boy, it recounts a period in which both he and his capricious father learn some important lessons about themselves and about each other.

There is little plot to speak of--just life unfolding variously in its sweetness and pain, often tinged with a delicious whimsy. Be warned, though, that much as you may be disposed to like the father, he is a flawed man; his pathetic and childish attitudes are often painfully embarrassing to the viewer. Also, sexual references permeate this film, and there is a strong suggestion that youthful sexual curiosity ought to be given free reign. Parents with a contrary view might wish to give it a look before showing it to their children.

The cinematography is excellent, deftly making the most of the fine Scottish landscape.

But the music--ah! The music is wonderful, from the first folk-tinged strain, through Beethoven and Saint-Saëns, to the Louis Armstrong ending. Few films are so musically satisfying.

The role of the childish and inarticulate father, Edward Pettigrew, is nicely developed by Colin Firth. Rosemary Harris is his aristocratic, but good-natured mother-in-law, who actually owns the estate inhabited by her daughter and Edward and their progeny; Harris handles her part with great understanding and humour. The children are natural and believable, and the servants are well-picked and quirky--their kitchen conversations add much warmth to this work.

For me, the ending credits revealed a lovely surprise: that the reflections of the boy, Fraser Pettigrew, actually come from a memoir written by Sir Denis Forman. I know that name well; Forman is also the author of my favorite opera guide, a cleverly designed, but funny and irreverent book appropriately titled, "The Good Opera Guide." (But don't be put off by the U.S. title, "A Night at the Opera"; it's a wonderful book by any name.)

Small wonder, then, that this movie has such a fine soundtrack.

Rating: 8 for the movie, 10 for the opera book.

My husband and I just watched this beautifully performed movie. It is an old fashioned movie with wonderful scenery of the Highlands of Scotland. Of a life that is no more. Robert Norman as Fraser the little boy is perfect for the part. He is very curious and causes no end of trouble. This movie takes place after World War I and is based on the novel "Son of Adam" by Sir Denis Forman. It is a gentle movie and I highly recommend it to those people who want spend an hour and a half in a time that will not come back. Rosemary Harris as Gamma, as always, is perfect. ColinFirth as Edward the dreamer, inventor and father plays the part to perfection. Both Irene Jacob and May Elizabeth Mastrantonio are beautiful and a pleasure to watch. Do see it.

This is one of the least know, but most charming films I have ever scene.seen.

Every child deserves to have a father like Edward Pettigrew (Firth). As Frazier describes his father, " Father is an inventer and a genius!!!"

The film begins with a toddler Frazier, disliking his rest time, decides to have an adventure by crawling around the roof of the family castle in Argyll, Scotland. Father climbs down the steep roof with a rope attached to his waist and rescues wee Frazier, all the while barking like a dog. Frazier, (who makes comments throughout the film), observes that at that time in his life, he and his father ONLY communicated in DOG, the language they both spoke best.

Naturally the film has a romantic and potentially explosively moment between Father and his brother-in-law's fiance- a 24 year old French muscian who is quite beautiful and charming. She is also very wise for her years and managed to defuse the situation before it blows up. Never-the-less, the wife, played beautifully by Mary Elizabeth Mastreontonio, finds out at a crucial moment in the film and those rock-solid marriage nearly ends at a most tragic time in young Frazier's life.

But father, being a genius, finds a way to heal the wounds caused by his split-second decision to give in to his baser instincts. The WAY he gets his wife to forgive him and laugh again is pure magic.

Colin Firth never looked so handsome. Not even his glorious Mr. Darcy is so appealing. This role gives him the opportunity to show all his sides. His glorious, looney sense of humor as well as his gift for drama without words. Here he is active, leaping into a freezing cold Locke, running up and down stairs, inventing things, saving his son, dancing with his wife. He gets to laugh and cry and be HUMAN.

For those who discovered Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, My Life So Far is the glorious update!

My Life So Far in DVD has a place on honor in my collection of over 500 DVD's and VHS' One of my favorites, and, I hope soon to be yours.

Many summaries have described this film's plot as a love triangle that occurs in turn-of-the-century Scotland. Nonsense. What is this tendency to pigeonhole films by the time and place

in which they occurred? Maybe its because of Hollow-wood's tendency to create shallow "costume dramas." If a film has any merit at all, it is because it TRANSCENDS its setting, and speaks to its audience, whoever and wherever they are.

"My Life So Far" is a story of the intellectual development of a very bright child. His piecing together and puzzling out of the complex emotions of the people around him, in addition to his own feelings and experiences, and the information he receives via overheard conversations, books, music and so forth are interesting and original and seem totally spontaneous. It is a joy to experience what he experiences.

The ensemble acting is effortless, especially the child actor, who is so spontaneous and self-absorbed, you feel you are a member of the family, not an onlooker. Production values are sterling. The shots of the huge Scottish castle and its beautiful lands are somehow comforting. (This is neither a child's film, nor an adult's film. "My Life So Far" doesn't really have a niche, and that may be why it has not been widely distributed).

It is a film to see to renew your memories of being a child and to cause you to meditate on what daily life can be like for a child who is alert, intelligent, and surrounded by love and a good home.

It is rare to see a sweet and lovely movie but this is one ... a great way to spend the afternoon. A nice family story, although with really young kids you might have to explain some of the things "Wee Fraser" discovers up in his Grampa's attic. (Should you find your attention wandering and this not being your kind of movie, just fast-forward to the dinner scene and the very final scene: those two scenes should go down in movie history as the most adorable ever made!

(A Family Dinners will never be the same when you consider a little bit of knowledge gets a little out of hand --- and maybe dad does know best!)