Review of Dean Spanley (2008) by Cc F — 01 Feb 2010

What a peculiar, wonderful, surprising little movie! I just couldn't believe my eyes(or ears). It starts off like a regular period drama with Henslowe Fisk(Jeremy Northam) on his way to visit his father, a rather tiring duty since the grumpy old man isn't the most inspiring company. In desperation to get out of the stuffy dark house they go to a lecture about reincarnation, which turns out to be a real snore. But they make the aquaintance with Spanley, a local dean, who are not overly friendly, but Henslowe becomes interested in why a man of the church is interested in reincarnation. He is himself still mourning the loss of his brother who died in the Boer War and his mother, dead by the grief, and confused about the father's cold attitude towards these events. He invite the reluctant dean to come to dinner and manage to persuade him with a bottle of imperial rum, the deans only weakness. Under the influence of the alcohol an amazing story is told.

I didn't know what to think of this movie at first, I just know my jaw dropped on several occasions, I laughed out loud and even cried in the end. That makes it a good movie in my opinion. I bought it because it was a period piece, and Jeremy Northam in a period piece I can stand very easily. Never expected this fantastic tale of loss and life though. I don't even know what to write about it... QUIRKY AND AMAZING. The cast was great. Peter o'Toole as old mr Fisk and Sam Neill as Spanley were particularly good. Sam Neill surprisingly so. How he could keep a straight face, I'll never know. I'm just... I still can't really grasp the utter wonder of this movie. If you don't mind a movie made out by a bunch of Edwardian men in stiff collars sitting around a dinnertable, drinking rum and talking, you're in for a treat.