Captain Webb *** (2015, Warren Brown, Steve Oram, Georgia Maguire, Terry Mynott, Hannah Tointon) – Movie Review

Warren Brown captures exactly the right note as retired merchant seaman Captain Matthew Webb, who on 25 August 1875 survives fierce winds, treacherous currents and multiple jellyfish stings to swim from Dover to the shores of France, taking almost 22 hours for the 39 miles.

Captain Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) thus became the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. Webb thereafter became famous as ‘The Greatest Englishman’ and the Channel would not be swum again for 36 years.

Jemma Kennedy‘s screenplay (based on a book) tells in flashbacks the story of Webb’s struggle with himself, his family, his showman coach Professor Beckwith (Steve Oram), the coach’s daughter Agnes (Georgia Maguire), and his smarmy American showman challenger (Terry Mynott) on the way to getting to France.

Justin Hardy’s film is quirky, likeable and entertaining. The 90 minutes pass pleasantly by in a Victorian haze, with the period settings and atmosphere neatly sketched and well shot on a low (£400,000) budget. The acting and dialogue are up and down like the English weather, but when they’re good, they’re fine. Brown, Oram, Maguire and Mynott are all ideal and rock solid. The film is a small fish in a big pond, but it’s still worth catching.

Hardy is the maker of A Feast at Midnight (1994) and Love Me Till Monday (2013) with a lot of TV in between.

Captain Webb later basked in national and international adulation, and a brand of matches was named after him. His picture on boxes of Bryant and May matches is said have inspired the physical appearance of the Inspector Clouseau character.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Movie Review

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