Rating: 
Summary: Worthwhile, But See Donat, Leighton, and Hardwicke
Review: This is an excellent film, and J.N. and N.H. are especially good, but I had two major reservations. First, I did not at all care for R.P.'s smirking performance as Kate Winslow; I did not feel that there were great unspoken depths--on the contrary, I found her entirely one dimensional. There was also some excellent dialogue in the first film version that was not carried over to the second. I have not read or seen the play, and do not know if the dialogue I missed was in fact part of the original screen adaptation, but even if it was Mamet should have retained it. What I specifically have in mind is the moment when Kate and Sir Robert meet. In the first film, Kate is expecting her fiance and flings open the front door with a "John, you're late!", only to find Sir Robert standing there, looking very posh and remote in his evening clothes. She says, "Oh, I'm sorry, I was expecting a friend." As it turns out, of course, it is Sir Robert and not John who turns out to be the truest friend to her and her family.A scene that was carried over to the new version is the one in which Winslow wants to drop the case because it may threaten Kate's engagement, and Kate assures Sir Robert that her fiance will remain loyal. In the original, Robert queries Kate on this in a sudden and abrupt way that makes it clear he is testing her resolve, and Kate replies in a way that makes clear that although she claims John will hold firm, she's pretty sure that he will not. When Sir Robert sees that she is prepared to sacrifice her future to the principle of right (for, like Sir Robert, she cares more about the principle involved than clearing her brother), he softens towards her. Indeed, although this film is a fine romance (of the stiff-upper-lip school), thanks to Leighton's performance it is also far more appealingly feminist than the remake. Leighton and Hardwicke are quite marvelous in the 1940s version, but at the center of it is the great Robert Donat, with his white-faced handsomeness, his dark gaze, his beautifully melancholy voice, and his sadly detached manner. The delicacy with which he works his way through the film, with his restraint and remoteness making the moments of emotion or flirtation all the more affecting, is extraordinary. Northam's performance is in the same vein, and also superior, but don't miss Donat!
Rating: 
Summary: Courtroom drama-unlikely courtship? Mamet keeps you guessing
Review: Dave Mamet, he of massively male play-cum-movies like Glenngarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo, is toying in the melon patch of Merchant-Ivory and playwright Terence Rattigan in this wonderful film. I may be the only one who thinks so but I believe the director has the beginnings of a comedy here. I'll explain later. Poor young Winslow, the great hope of a proud upper middle class family, has been sacked at Osbourne. His crime? Nothing as base as say dropping his "aye-chez." No, he's alleged to have stolen and forged a five pound postal money order in a fellow cadet's name. Enter Arthur, the proud father of this prodigy. This is a low blow to the Winslow Honor. Arthur shall fight this calumny if it means the family fortune. Nigel Hawthorne shows us the highs and lows of Winslow family pride, as Arthur, supported ably by Gemma Jones as his wife, Grace. Ronnie Winslow, his black sheep brother Dickie and the older Winslows then step mostly offstage. Young Ronnie is later seen being interrupted in the midst of a tennis game, having happily and readily adapted to a new school. The family is teetering on the brink of insolvency. The action has shifted to the two characters I believe are really the focus of the film: Superbarrister Sir Robert Morton and Arthur's headstrong daughter Catherine Winslow. Ms. Winslow wears interesting sunglasses and her manner is brusque and unfeminine. Sir Robert is smitten instantly if you can grasp almost invisible movie subtext. The romance seems doomed at the couple's first meeting. Ms. Winslow remembers Sir Robert's earlier tiff with a suffragist group she supports. She believes that Sir Robert may not be able to save the family name. Sir Robert is taken aback- and I say, delighted- to be so grandly challenged from such an interesting quarter. It is cut and thrust between this unlikely pair for the rest of the film. Neither Sir Robert nor Catherine gives an inch. An enormous and expensive public relations and advertising campaign is mounted to exonerate Young Winslow. Though the period of the film seems to be just before World War 1, the newspaper headlines and ad tactics appear similar to those employed today. Even the bloody Kaiser is evoked as a symbol of evil in the battle to prove the boy's innocence. Mr and Mrs. Winslow are apparently too sensitive to appear in Court or stand in the gallery at Commons as Sir Robert conjures political business on poor Ronnie's behalf. Ms. Winslow does this instead. She brings news, bad or good, back to the Winslows at home. Meanwhile, the belt must be tightened, the purse grows lighter. Cheaper rations must suffice, the maid may be let go. Never mind. The great question is whether Sir Robert is making headway with Ms. Winslow. Does he know what he is doing? It is a very long way to first base here. There is a sharp interrogation sequence in which Sir Robert questions Ronnie closely. Young Winslow makes mistakes that dismay his family in answering Sir Robert. Thats alright, the innocence of these mistakes has convinced Sir Robert the boy has been wrongly charged. There is bad news and good news as the campaign ebbs and flows. The privations at home contrast with successes in court and commons. Ms. Winslow's assessment of the barrister has changed not a whit. Sir Robert is confident. Ms. Winslow is unconvinced. The audience has no idea where this is going. It is particularly difficult to read Catherine. She simply has no screen subtext. Some critics say actress Rebecca Pidgeon is not playing the part correctly. They believe Mamet's girlfriend is giving a bad performance here. She is not. It is for Sir Robert, played by the intelligent Jeremy Northam, to provide all the character shading necessary to untangle this web. He isn't interrogating a witness, he is watching Ms. Winslow's reaction to the witness, perhaps not necessarily with a view toward winning, but to simply get to the bottom of Catherine. Exonerating poor Ronnie is not Sir Robert's goal, its winning "Sis" over that matters. Except you can't quite be sure this is true until the film pays off; Not with just a single surprise, but two of them. There's a comedy brewing here but Mamet/Rattigan- I'm not sure who is the author of what here- never let any scene quite reach the level of comedy. You have to watch the interplay between Sir Robert's smirk and Ms. Winslow's drollery awhile, before you know it is not the verdict that interests, but whether they'll get on.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful, Character-Driven Movie
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen in ages. It is also that rarest of rarities these days, a subtle, character-driven story that, without blood and gore, car chases or special effects, keeps you glued to the screen because you are fascinated with the characters and have to know how they come out. There is not a bad or even mediocre performance in it--every one of the parts is beautifully acted with understated artistry. The story of the Winslow father's determined fight to clear the name of his son is a simple one but the nuances of the characters are wonderful and full of humor, affection, warmth and steely resolve. Jeremy Northam is, of course, particularly fascinating as the barrister, and the unspoken romantic attraction between him and the Winslow daughter keeps electricity in the air throughout, up to and including the positively entrancing exchange between them at the end of the film. This movie is a must-see if you can do without exploding tanks and gunfights.
Rating:
Summary: Suited for Masterpiece Theatre
Review: Slow. Very. If you enjoy a movie taking it's time to reveal it's selling points, if you enjoy the pace of masterpiece theatre at its most leisurely, you'll enjoy this. It is steeped in period and revisits a rather moralistic scandal revolving about whether a boy lied and should be expelled from a boarding school. The young man does well, but it is Jeremy Northam's film. Jeremy at his most waxen, stiff, British-tensed self. He is resplendant in period costume(as is everyone) but the tension is kept low key and relationships are hard won. Gemma Jones tries to show some spit and fire for her younger brother in arguing with Jeremy as the lawyer pressed to pick up his cause in parliament, but there are very few fireworks between these two fine actors. My honst reccommendation is to rent this unless you're a British period fanatic. See it once, file it away, and try to see more of Northam's work as reference.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly pallid remake
Review: Do not buy this movie. Hold out for the original glorious 1948 version with Robert Donat, Margaret Leighton, Cedric Hardwicke and Basil Radford.
Rating:
Summary: Let Right Be Done
Review: One of the most interesting films of '99, The Winslow Boy may not be for everyone. No cars careen around corners and explode, no guns are fired. Instead David Mamet (House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, Glengarry Glen Ross) in his movie adaption of Terrance Rattigan's ever popular British play, based on a true story, creates an English world of 1910 on the eve of WWI, women's sufferage and the rest of the modern age. With dramatic, precisely crafted dialogue he raises such questions as: the standing of the least before the highest, justice vs. moral truth, the costs of the pursuit of truth and the difficulty seperating truth from lies. Featuring Jeremy Northam (Emma, The Net), Nigel Hawthorne (Madness of King George), Rebecca Pigeon (Spanish Prisoner, and also David Mamet's wife), her brother Matthew Pigeon, Gemma Jones (Sense & Sensibility), Colin Stinton, and thirteen year old Guy Edwards as Ronnie Winslow, the accused. They all do fine job, but particularly outstanding are Northam as Sir Robert Morton, Hawthorne as the father Arthur Winslow, Jones as Grace Winslow and Edwards. Benoit Delhomme's John Singer Sargeant like cinema photography brings to life end of Victorian England. As Mamet wrote in Three Uses of the Knife: "During the O.J. Simpson case..it occurred to me that a legal battle consisted not in a search for truth but in jockeying for the right to pick the central issue."
Rating:
Summary: Evocative Turn of the Century Film
Review: I saw this movie in the library and decided to try it based on the director being David Mamet, whose previous work such as Glengarry Glen Ross and House of Cards I really enjoyed. I knew nothing about the movie otherwise and don't even remember it being released. What a surprise! Even though the plot (the younger son of a middle class British family is kicked out of the Osborne Naval Academy for cheating and his family sets out to prove his innocence) doesn't sound that interesting, the story kept me on the edge of my seat. Mamet has several key events happen off screen and the actors responding to second hand notice of these events and this actually seemed to heighten the suspense. Jeremy Northam is brilliant in a pivotal role. If you want a change from the summer blockbusters, this is the perfect movie!
Rating:
Summary: Edwardian bodice buster...
Review: I attended a play a while back with my Aunt Marge (age 85), and her friends Marie (age 87) and Susie (age 85). While we were waiting for the curtain to rise, I told them I had just seen a great movie entitled "The Winslow Boy" directed by David Mamet. Marie, a retired high school teacher (French) and her sister Susie (a retired Broadway director and producer) both expresssed surprise. Marie told me she had directed the play "The Winslow Boy" in high school in the late 1920's -- making the stage play a bit older than the screen play of 1946. Susie played the role of Ms. Winslow in Marie's play. This is a great movie. The actors include Gemma Jones (Sense and Sensibility), Nigel Hawthorne (The Madness of King George), and Jeremy Northam (Emma). Not only did Mamet direct the movie and develop the screen play, Gemma Jones was involved in the production design. I love the theater, and viewing this movie gave me the sense I was watching live theater. In fact, the camera work is so good, it was better than live theater as I felt present on the stage. It was as if my eye had detached from my body and could float independently--sometimes at bustle level as an actor walked across the floor--or sometimes at eye level, as when young Winslow hesitates in the rain before entering the house to tell his family of his disgrace. The story involves a fight for justice. A young boy is expelled from school for cheating. The family might have quietly enrolled him in another school and tried to forget the business, but the boy's father Arthur Winslow (Hawthorne) believes his son is innocent and wants him exonerated. Over the objections of his wife (Jones) and with the help of his daughter (Rebecca Pigeon), he decides to fight the charges. The family hires the very talented Sir Robert Morton (Northam) to take their case. In the end justice triumps. The most fascinating aspect of this film is the increible sexual tension that mounts between Sir Robert and Ms Winslow as the case proceeds. They are exact opposites. Ms Winslow is a feminist and engages in all sorts of daring things including smoking cigarettes and writing and distributing literature on behalf of the Women's Movement. Sir Robert is a conservative lord, in line for Prime Minister--if he plays his cards right. He looks askance on her feminist activities, but he cannot overcome his fascination with and attraction to Ms. Winslow. The glances, the looks, the indrawn breaths, and quips that convey feelings are fabulous. Time and again, Ms Winslow tells Sir Robert that he simply does not understand women. He makes comments designed to preserve his aloofness, but eventually, Sir Robert's feelings get the better of him. His last impassioned speech on the floor of the House of Lords--which probably sinks his aspirations for PM--is on behalf of the Winslow boy, but it is purely for Ms. Winslow's benefit. At the end, standing by the back garden gate, Ms. Winslow thanks Sir Robert for all he has done, and bids him goodbye. He takes her hand, bows, and says, "If you believe that Ms. Winslow, you simply don't understand men."
Rating:
Summary: Jeremy Northam Is Wonderful!
Review: I think the video box shows you exactly who dominates this film: Jeremy Northam, on the top left. That's where my eye feels impelled to travel! He plays the English barrister who represents the boy who is let go from his school for allegedly stealing. He strikes you at the start of the movie as a great barrister but also an unbending man, cold as ice and as handsome as a chiseled ice sculpture. The young woman, the boy's sister, is seemingly the barrister's opposite on everything. As the family's resources are drained while the case drags on, it becomes apparent that the reason Northam is such a great barrister is that there is tremendous passion in his inner convictions which lies under his outside edifice. This has one of the best movie endings I've ever seen and the dialogue between the barrister and the sister is absolutely perfect. David Mamet did a wonderful job of adapting the Terrence Rattigan play. Mamet's wife plays the boy's sister.
Rating:
Summary: This film stands for: "less sometines means more"
Review: Movies, these days, come loaded with such a definitely bombastic style that they appear to deny the existence of the notion that restraint has its peculiar virtue and beauty. In this sense, the "Winslow Boy" will only be truly appreciated by those who do have a good grasp of that notion. The film is a perfect example to illustrate that an underplayed performance is much more effective and satisfying than an overplayed one; that self-restraining style has more meaning and class than a say-all-you-feel style. Put in other words, isn't it more exciting to see a beautiful woman in a suggestive dress than see her in the nude! Yes, leave the rest to one's own imagination and intimacy! Despite the grave nature of the legal issue raised in the movie, every aspect in it is underplayed and delivered with an appropriate touch of reticence that the conflicts it generate seem more real and honest. The Winslow Boy incident is nothing but a catalyst and a tool to develop characters, conflicts and relationships. Among them the relationship between Rebecca Pidgeon and Jeremy Northam is a model of adult sexuality at its finest. In essence, this movie is a drama which hides a covert, clever, smoldering romance which has an atypical happy ending that stimulates your imagination beyond the movie. Deep underneath their skin one can feel the sexual tension between them that is kept in check by their cool heads and the notion that it is always better not to let one's emotions just explode all at once. Emotions should be managed and not let run loose at will. After the ending, one comes to the realization that long lasting relationships are built step by step, with time and effort, and with a good dose of intellectual foreplay to top it off. By the way, this DVD comes with an alternative audio commentary by the director and the principal cast that is very informative and entertaining, and it is also a good example of why every good film should add such a track to its DVD format. This may have been the best performance by Jeremy Northam (he certainly has a resemblance and style of Laurence Olivier) , and Rebecca Pidgeon was perfect in her role, and those who critized her for being too cold and emotionless, and other aspects of this movie, just do not get the deliberate design of this movie.
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