There are no ladies knitting back home in the capitals of Europe, but "My Boy Jack" does a topnotch job of portraying the horrors of World War I by focusing on one particular drawing room in England as Rudyard Kipling, his wife and daughter await word of the fate of son Jack, "missing, presumed wounded," in his first battle one day past his eighteenth birthday.
Familiar with David Haig only as the bumbling Detective Inspector Grim in the British comedy series, "The Thin Blue Line," I had no idea he could act so dramatically, let alone write so moving a piece as this. Of all the "Masterpieces" on public TV, this is one of the most deserving to be seen.
Young Daniel Radcliffe, in the middle of his run as the lead in the Harry Potter movie series, turns in a surprisingly effective performance in the title role here, a role quite different from that of the schoolboy wizard. And young Carey Mulligan, who's become nearly ubiquitous as somebody or other's daughter in U.K. dramas shown on American TV, is equally affecting as the Kipling daughter, Elsie.
U.K.-born, Canadian-bred, and U.S.-trained (at least in part), Kim Cattrall plays Kipling's American wife, with the accent to match. This piece was shown as a "Masterpiece Classic" on America's PBS, followed by behind-the-scene interviews with the three principals, Haig, Radcliffe, and Cattrall. Cattrall's interview was perhaps the most articulate of the lot, which may have been a surprise to viewers familiar only with "Samantha", Cattrall's sexpot in The City (NYC) from the popular HBO series.
All in all, VERY highly recommended.
Familiar with David Haig only as the bumbling Detective Inspector Grim in the British comedy series, "The Thin Blue Line," I had no idea he could act so dramatically, let alone write so moving a piece as this. Of all the "Masterpieces" on public TV, this is one of the most deserving to be seen.
Young Daniel Radcliffe, in the middle of his run as the lead in the Harry Potter movie series, turns in a surprisingly effective performance in the title role here, a role quite different from that of the schoolboy wizard. And young Carey Mulligan, who's become nearly ubiquitous as somebody or other's daughter in U.K. dramas shown on American TV, is equally affecting as the Kipling daughter, Elsie.
U.K.-born, Canadian-bred, and U.S.-trained (at least in part), Kim Cattrall plays Kipling's American wife, with the accent to match. This piece was shown as a "Masterpiece Classic" on America's PBS, followed by behind-the-scene interviews with the three principals, Haig, Radcliffe, and Cattrall. Cattrall's interview was perhaps the most articulate of the lot, which may have been a surprise to viewers familiar only with "Samantha", Cattrall's sexpot in The City (NYC) from the popular HBO series.
All in all, VERY highly recommended.