Film Reviews by None

So this was an enjoyable and well acted film. Hopkins' acting seemed a little stilted in a way which wasn't fully accounted for by the kind of wooden quirkiness which sometimes marks insanity in both films and real life. Yet the film managed to approach the topic of mathematical genius with script which was neither unintelligible nor providing a total cliche of inspirational innovation. What it lacked, however, (and I've no idea if this was inherited from the play), was a true depth and inter-penetration of the key themes of: self-doubt, trust, inspiration, insanity, solitariness, relatedness, care and control. This meant that the characters needed a little more work, background, context, to make their emotional reactions and interactions more compelling, believable and revealing.

Has the usual careful emphasis on character, interaction, class, comedy and pathos of Leigh's later films. However there was too little plot to keep us properly entertained. Worse than this, the characters were all hard to sympathise with, and fairly caricatured. The more rounded development of character in later Leigh films was missing: it was harder to see the character's faults in the light of the struggles of their lives. Perhaps the comedy itself suffered due to the lack of tragedy. And this meant that the film lacked the depth of others such as Secrets & Lies, High Hopes, and Vera Drake.