Rent Mr. Burton (2025)

A brilliant performance wrapped in a bloated runtime and dodgy digital smoke - Mr. Burton review by griggs

Mr. Burton boasts superb acting—Toby Jones and Harry Lawtey are magnetic—but the film struggles under the weight of its own structure. It’s a fascinating story, no doubt, but telling it in such a blocky, one-thing-then-the-next way really saps the energy. About an hour in, I found myself checking my watch—not because I wasn’t interested, but because the pacing started to wear me down. The CGI shots of Port Talbot didn’t help either; they felt artificial and took me out of the moment. Despite its flaws, Mr. Burton is still worth a watch for the performances alone, especially if you’re drawn to complex character studies.

Excellent and Fascinating Biopic of the Early Life of Great Welsh Actor Richard Burton - Mr. Burton review by PV

I loved this - it is a fascinating story about Richard Burton, born 1935, died of a stroke brought on by drink probably in 1984 after his last performance in that movie (Eurythmics soundtrack). He was clearly one of the greatest actors of the 20th century who emerged from a mining village in South Wales. Born in 1925,. he'd remember the 3-day Blitz of Feb 1941 which destroyed much of nearby Swansea - the German plane hit the huge oil tanks and they could be seen burning many miles away.

The acting is great from Toby Jones and Harry Lawtrey, and especially Richard's drunkard dad, and the focus on the 'love story' between a student and his mentor was surprising but works - maybe the modern obsession with gender/sexual orientation is reflected here. A movie made a couple of decades ago would have left it out. And the actual acting and elocution lessons given to Richard and then the recitation of Shakespeare that Burton voice are superb. They are the pros.

The cons include the very CGI-looking scenes of industrial port Talbot, but I suppose a budget issue there. it is hard to recreate a grey, polluted, industrial landscape which has vanished now, though my mum remembered it and my grandfather was born into it. 80% of the world's copper used to be made in Swansea, and the South Wales coalfields powered that and the ironworks and steelworks and zinc works and more.

Also, it does drag a bit as it goes on. The text on screen is too small - fine for a cinema but had to squint to read that on a TV. For me, the actors playing Richard Jenkins and his 17/18 year old classmates look WAY too old, 25+. The later Stratford scenes set in 1951/2 when Burton was 27 are a better fit, with the actor looking that age.

Anyway, I enjoyed it immensely anyway. 4 stars