The Winslow Boy *** (1999, Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam, Rebecca Pidgeon, Gemma Jones) – Classic Movie Review 644

David Mamet’s sixth film as writer-director is this uneven but conscientious and sometimes moving 1999 remake of Anthony Asquith’s 1948 British film of Terence Rattigan’s classic theatre play.

It tells the story of an innocent 14-year-old English Edwardian army cadet called Ronnie Winslow (Guy Edwards) who is expelled from school for allegedly stealing a five-shilling postal order with another boy’s forged signature. Set in London before World War One, it depicts an English family defending the honour of its young son at all cost.

This time Jeremy Northam stars as King’s Counsel Sir Robert Morton, the ace barrister employed by the boy’s father Arthur Winslow (Nigel Hawthorne) to prove his son’s innocence. Both Hawthorne’s and Northam’s magnificent performances are at the heart of this classic portrayal of an ordinary man’s fight for justice.

While Northam’s Sir Robert harangues the House of Commons for justice, the family (mother Gemma Jones, daughter Rebecca Pidgeon, son Matthew Pidgeon) face treacherous friends and Hawthorne comes near to going broke. The daughter gets dumped by her fiancé John Watherstone (Aden Gillett) and both the stuffy family lawyer Desmond Curry (Colin Stinton) and the flamboyant Sir Robert then move in on her.

After a slightly shaky start, The Winslow Boy settles down to being a gripping drama, though Mamet can’t fully overcome the impression that the story is just a bit of a storm in a teacup. The best scene is Northam’s interrogation of the boy, who, by the way, seems very guilty in this version. The debate about right and justice has been done better by some better movies, most of them American.

However, Hawthorne, Northam and Jones are absolutely ideal, giving commanding performances, though elsewhere the terribly English accents and manners seem  a bit forced and fake. The piece has a slight museum fustiness about it, which Mamet can’t quite shake off. Northam won the award for Best British Performance at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Neil North, the lad who played the original Winslow Boy, now plays the First Lord of the Admiralty. Mamet says he had already cast North in the film before he was told that he’d also appeared in the 1948 version.

The play was inspired by an actual event, which set a legal precedent. It was the case of George Archer-Shee, a cadet at Osborne in 1908, who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet. On the fourth day of his trial, the Solicitor General accepted that he was innocent, and the family was paid compensation. He was killed in the First World War.

The magnificent house used for the entire production is located at Clapham South, London SW4, overlooking Clapham Common and the tennis courts. It’s a real star of the movie.

Rebecca Pidgeon, who plays Catherine, is the wife of playwright and director David Mamet. Matthew Pidgeon, who plays Dickie Winslow (Catherine’s brother), is Rebecca Pidgeon’s real-life brother.

Mamet originally thought of making a theatrical production of Rattigan’s dramatic play, but after failing to find backers for the project decided to adapt the play for the cinema.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 644

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com