A nice thing about streaming is the suggestions hence our watching Page Eight followed by another two word title "Hope Gap" all because of Old Bill, Nighy that is. What a contrast in characters he plays even though the films are a mere couple of years apart; the poor man has gone from being with sexy Rachel to religious nutter Anette and their son Prince Charles in a hideaway in Broadchurch.
Of the two flawed but worthwhile films Hope Gap was the weaker I feel at least as far as Bill's bits are concerned. However, in both he plays an intelligent middle class gent with problems, lots of them, most of them his own fault and both involving his dalliances with the unfairer sex.
I looked him up and our veteran actor has reached his three score years and ten with no sign of hanging his boots up. It works in one but not in the other. This review will now concentrate on Hope(less) Gap and one thing that struck me quickly was the casting. There's been some mistake here surely? Here he is as a history teacher in his local secondary school going on about Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Moscow to a bored sixth form class. Was this a metaphor about his life at the outset, chucking the wounded in the snow to die? I would have loved Bill as my history teacher, so deadpan so wry, so funny.
Yes folks, the actor is and looks, seventy and yet is still teaching professionally and UK retirement age is mid-60s. But this has nothing to do with his family life... or has it? Not wanting to give up the plot he is miscast in my opinion. The other two principal characters, his wife and son are also poorer choices in my mind. Bening has had her moments and she gives a lot to the role as his long-suffering partner in life and mother of his only child but were no other maybe more local actresses free? And we are still in shock over The Crown where Josh delivers an hilarious impression of Prince Charles smitten by the lovelier than life Camilla while tormented by his mum and co... hmm sounds a bit like Hope Gap... yes, there he is torn between two crankies whose marriage is well past its sell by date but neither has the guts to sort it out even though they are bright, successful muddle class folk living in a coastal idyll. On that subject we enjoyed the drone footage but it has become a bit of a cliché nowadays yet did serve as a nice break between the family funny bits. Yes, it has comedic moments, quite a few in fact especially when Prince Charles falls over or rather trips over the pet which just suddenly appeared from nowhere, your usual yuppy puppy compensatory pedigree of course. Well, they did warn Charles to stop walking about with his hands in his jacket pockets!
So if you like schadenfreude voyeurism and have just over 90 minutes to spare of an evening then maybe give it a try... but only have the one glass of fine wine beforehand as you may nod off... until AB starts yelling at him again... and I don't blame her, serves her right marrying a history teacher! Snag is it was all a bit too close to home... the perils of the "empty nest" syndrome... but who wants to watch stuff like this? It made me feel uncomfortable and depressed - if they can't get life right what chance the rest of us mere mortals?
Of the two flawed but worthwhile films Hope Gap was the weaker I feel at least as far as Bill's bits are concerned. However, in both he plays an intelligent middle class gent with problems, lots of them, most of them his own fault and both involving his dalliances with the unfairer sex.
I looked him up and our veteran actor has reached his three score years and ten with no sign of hanging his boots up. It works in one but not in the other. This review will now concentrate on Hope(less) Gap and one thing that struck me quickly was the casting. There's been some mistake here surely? Here he is as a history teacher in his local secondary school going on about Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Moscow to a bored sixth form class. Was this a metaphor about his life at the outset, chucking the wounded in the snow to die? I would have loved Bill as my history teacher, so deadpan so wry, so funny.
Yes folks, the actor is and looks, seventy and yet is still teaching professionally and UK retirement age is mid-60s. But this has nothing to do with his family life... or has it? Not wanting to give up the plot he is miscast in my opinion. The other two principal characters, his wife and son are also poorer choices in my mind. Bening has had her moments and she gives a lot to the role as his long-suffering partner in life and mother of his only child but were no other maybe more local actresses free? And we are still in shock over The Crown where Josh delivers an hilarious impression of Prince Charles smitten by the lovelier than life Camilla while tormented by his mum and co... hmm sounds a bit like Hope Gap... yes, there he is torn between two crankies whose marriage is well past its sell by date but neither has the guts to sort it out even though they are bright, successful muddle class folk living in a coastal idyll. On that subject we enjoyed the drone footage but it has become a bit of a cliché nowadays yet did serve as a nice break between the family funny bits. Yes, it has comedic moments, quite a few in fact especially when Prince Charles falls over or rather trips over the pet which just suddenly appeared from nowhere, your usual yuppy puppy compensatory pedigree of course. Well, they did warn Charles to stop walking about with his hands in his jacket pockets!
So if you like schadenfreude voyeurism and have just over 90 minutes to spare of an evening then maybe give it a try... but only have the one glass of fine wine beforehand as you may nod off... until AB starts yelling at him again... and I don't blame her, serves her right marrying a history teacher! Snag is it was all a bit too close to home... the perils of the "empty nest" syndrome... but who wants to watch stuff like this? It made me feel uncomfortable and depressed - if they can't get life right what chance the rest of us mere mortals?