I just saw The Winslow Boy, a really delightful period film that I missed when it was in the theatres.
Based on a Terrence Rattigan play and directed by, of all people, David Mamet, the story is about the reaction of a family in Edwardian England when their youngest son is expelled from the Royal Naval College for stealing. The father accepts the son's denial and puts much of the family income towards setting things right. The case was the OJ trial of its day, with the family home under siege by the press and interested onlookers, and the courts and political system swept up in the family's determination to establish their son's innocence.
But the story has very little to do with whether or not the boy stole the money; it's a character study of a loving, close-knit family, and the people who take up their cause. It's certainly the nicest crew ever portrayed in a Mamet film. The performances are all excellent: Nigel Hawthorne as the father, Gemma Jones as the mother, Rebecca Pidgeon as the eldest daughter, who shares her father's determination, and the really extremely good looking Jeremy Northam as the king's counsel and MP they retain to take the case. The Winslow boy himself is a secondary character, but Guy Edwards really nails the proper English lad routine.
Well worth a look--the DVD has Mamet, Pidgeon, Hawthorne, and Northam doing commentary, with plenty of interesting chat about the making of the film.
