Review of Gideon's Daughter (2005) by Walter M — 11 Jun 2013

"Gideon's Daughter" starts with middle-aged Sneath(Robert Lindsay) in his pajama bottoms welcoming Becca(Samantha Whittaker), a typist, into his apartment so he can transcribe a story that begins on a rainy night in 1997 on a red carpet. Gideon Warner(Bill Nighy) is so huge in public relations that he can send out Andrew(Tom Hardy) to work the floor for him. But not so above it all that he cannot settle a dispute between Dent(Tom Goodman-Hill), an M.P, and a distraught couple(Miranda Richardson & David Westhead). Plus, he also finds the time to watch his daughter Natasha's(Emily Blunt) senior recital which unsettles him so much that he starts pricing family psychologists...

"Gideon's Daughter" is an odd one. Not in a weird way and it has nothing to do with Tom Hardy playing a non-violent character, either. No, it is a movie that cannot truly decide what kind of movie it wants to be, leading it to head in two equally opposite directions at once. On the one hand, all of the major characters are dealing with some kind of loss in their lives, with a national mourning serving as the background. And for some that might also belong in the arena of ridiculousness(along with the Millenium Dome) that was established in its framing sequence. That's not to mention an emotional climax that is more quirky than anything resembling heartfelt.