In early June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray) was visited at his country estate (known as “Hyde Park on Hudson”) by King George VI (Samuel West) and his wife, the Queen Consort Elizabeth (Olivia Colman). This was the first time a British Monarch had ever visited the United States. King George’s goal on this visit was to officially ask for America’s military support in the upcoming war.
West as the stuttering King is a pleasure to watch, nervously biting his stiff upper lip…
Roosevelt was developing a fondness for his distant cousin Margaret (Laura Linney), and it is her story that is told here, against the backdrop of that momentous royal visit. Murray is the obvious star, the cast orbiting his presence just as the characters orbit FDR. His delivery is gentle and appropriate, but there’s no getting past the fact that while it’s easy for him to play against type, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it’s easy for the audience to accept. He is a rogue, constantly infuriating his mother Sara (Elizabeth Wilson), who wants this royal visit to go just right, basically meaning he’s not allowed at his drinks tray before noon.
West as the stuttering King is a pleasure to watch, nervously biting his stiff upper lip while his wife struggles with the vulgarities of their hosts (They expect them to eat HOT DOGS?). Just as Bertie and Liz have to just sit there and take it, the viewer is faced with a fairly cliched jaunt through the old “Brit Abroad” routine, which somewhat trivialises what might have been a more powerful side-story.
It’s a fairly dry affair, the comedy light and borne of whimsy…
This is Roger Michell (NOTTING HILL)’s second period drama, after his 1995 Jane Austen adaptation PERSUASION. It’s a fairly dry affair, the comedy light and borne of whimsy, rather than any particular farcical situations or wit. The main narrative explores Margaret’s life as a mistress, and the practicalities of having such a role, with such a man, at such a time.
Laura Linney brings some grace to Margaret Stuckley (aka Daisy), sitting smoking on the porch of the house that Roosevelt gives her. A place to be alone and miss him, he says. For a principal character, however, her performance is fairly forgettable, and it is here that the film falters. As equal measure is given to the gravity of the situation, and the blossoming romance, the film is never serious enough, or tender enough, so it ultimately falls between two stools. It’s a shame, as a disappointing Bill Murray film is rare.
httpvh://youtu.be/UQaScjiWDyY
I found this pretty mediocre. Now that sounds harsher than I intend to be, it had its moments but there were numerous elements that jarred. Murray is really quite good, but (even as a massive republican) I found the use of a monarch seeking aid in preserving his nation as *comic relief* a little bit tonally odd. “Never mind those Hitler and Mussolini chaps, let’s watch him wave stiffly to a corn husker!”
Not dramatic, nor comedic enough. And there were too many efforts at the latter to make it a purely personal-slice-of-history. Not for me.