Review of Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) by Briain D — 23 Mar 2013

Great acting, great imagery and great direction, are sadly reduced in quality by a poorly-written script. After one scene, where FDR (Murray) kisses his cousin Daisy (Linney), she states in a voice-over, "From that moment, I knew we were more than just cousins...". This childish line sums up much of the dialogue in the film.

As I said, the acting here is great. Murray clearly has great fun playing the former US President, and his comic relief brings smiles to the faces of many viewers. Linney, also, despite her character, acts well, and does her best to make an impact on the film. Samuel West and Olivia Colman, whilst stereotypically portrayed, act well as the British element to the film. They are the King and Queen of England, over to seek support from the USA in World War II.

But where is the story? Even though the royals are over to discuss WWII, surely a vital subject of importance, it plays a very much secondary role in the film, with more weight given to the dropping of trays in the dining hall (which happens twice). And then there's Linney's relationship with Murray, which never develops into anything meaningful, just occasional sex and discussing his stamp collection. I was tremendously disappointed by this, as the trailers looked excellent.

The three stars are mainly thanks to Bill Murray's fun performance, the beautiful imagery of the American countryside, and the stellar direction at times from Roger Michell. It's worth a watch if you don't want something deep and serious.