God Rot Tunbridge Wells!

God Rot Tunbridge Wells a film made for British television is a one man show with Trevor Howard as George Freidrich Handel reminiscing about his life and his music which in point of fact was his life. Born in Germany which was no nation, but a geographical expression in 1685, Handel looks back on his life which took him to Italy and then finally to the United Kingdom where he lived and became something of a British celebrity. One must remember that in his lifetime the Hanoverians ascended to the British monarchy and Handel lived under the reign of the first two Georges, the first who spoke no English and the second as little as he had to.

Handel was a musical protégé much like Mozart. Unlike Mozart his father did not encourage his talents and we see young Handel according to the legend learning and sharpening his abilities on a small clavichord in the attic. And we follow him throughout his life as Howard narrates. No other speaking parts are in the film, but we get a sense of the achievements that he fought hard for, on the keyboard and in court as he vigorously protected his copyrights.

He was a product of a bawdy age and he was quite the swinger himself with any number of classical groupies around. But he is probably best known for his Messiah which is so familiar at Easter time, celebrating the Resurrection. If the title isn't familiar, you'll know it from watching The Greatest Story Ever Told as the theme for the resurrected Jesus.

Like James Whitmore and his one man show performance of Harry Truman, Trevor Howard takes over and dominates Handel. It's a large cast of players, but no other speaking voice is heard but Howard's. And when he's not speaking Handel's music soars and thrills as it has for over 300 years.

The film is a tribute to George Friedrich Handel who was born in 1685 and left the mortal world in 1759. He may have been born in Germany, but the United Kingdom claims him as their own and he'd have loved the idea of nations fighting over his legacy. He left enough around for all. And this is a great tribute to the talent and charisma of Trevor Howard as well.

In London around 1740 Handel had a stroke and for a while lost most of the use of his right hand. His Italian operas had been a huge money spinner in London, but they were becoming repetitive, and were actually ridiculed by rival operas!

So around then he had financial pressures and was feeling his way forward from his Baroque phase to his germanic oratorio phase, hoping there was a way he could cash in on that by staging oratorios other than in churches so he could sell tickets.

Had THAT failed it would be a case of "George Frideric who?" these days. But it didn't, because of what is surely the most amazing long shot in all of musical history, see below. And with the wind of the eventually wildly successful Messiah at his back, he was in his last 17 years pretty triumphalist (as quite correctly depicted here)!

So, to the long shot, the extraordinary critical path to the most performed music in world history, of which we can see quite a few of the key elements here.

Handel had to be born, in Germany of a father then over 60, had to have his mother secretly buy him a piano, had to have a local count hear his organ playing (at age 11) and sponsor him, had to learn baroque music and Italian in his 4 years in Italy, had to find cities & audiences back in Germany smallish, had to move to London for more business, had to be a favorite of the German-born kings then, had to see his main income from Italian operas fading, had to have an avid Christian come up with the idea of the Messiah and the unique libretto (phrases all lifted from the bible), had to have a possible stroke and survive it, had to get fired up enough to write the music on spec for all singers and players in 3 weeks (at age 56), had to doubt London was the best place to surface it, had to need money, had to be invited to Dublin, had to encounter a certain high-profile contralto, had to grasp a charitable angle, had to encounter a crazy-keen first audience there, had to be rebuffed initially in London, and had to be championed years later by the passionate co-founder of a hospital for babies of unmarried mothers (eventually 25,000 of them) in large part funded because he made the Messiah in a real sense theirs.

This is a film I go back to every couple of years, remembering how I enjoyed it the last time, and every (re)viewing reinforces my feeling that it is indeed a treat, a delight, a gem.

First, of course, we have the Music. Handel wrote some of the most magnificent "tunes" (as a character calls them in the film) in Western culture and this music is clearly the centerpiece of the film. Although not played on original instruments, it still sounds fantastic and the singing is divine (just watch and listen to young Emma Kirkby in "But Who May Abide" from Messiah - music to die for!)

Secondly, there is the presence (perhaps omnipresence) of Trevor Howard, playing the final moments of Handel as if feeling his own death approaching (he died just two short years later). What charisma this actor had, what magnificent voice, what a mesmerizing performer. Also, it does not bother a bit that Christopher Bramwell plays young Handel in a virtual tongue-in-cheek manner. This only underlines the levity and insouciance of the young composer about to conquer the world.

So what if John Osborne's script is more a reflection of himself than of Handel, as a reviewer previously noted? This is not a filmed biography, but an entertainment and as such, it has few peers. Still, I believe that Handel's love for England was real as indeed there is much to love and admire in that country.

The visual aspects of the film are beautifully done - the costumes, the long shots of cities and palaces, the (probably true) behaviour off and on stage in the 18th century. It all rings true.

So, a witty, literate and well-researched script, sublime music wonderfully performed, great acting and beautiful visuals. What else do you need in a film?