Amazing Grace (2006)

Well.  You know how sometimes you watch a film, expecting that you will quite enjoy it – it might be a nice way to pass a couple of hours – and it totally exceeds your expectations, and eats into far more than a couple of hours, because you can’t stop thinking about it?  This is what happened to me when I watched this film.

It tells the story of politician William Wilberforce as he moved through Parliament in a determined effort to get the British slave trade abolished.  While he had some loyal friends and colleagues, they faced an uphill struggle as many politicians favoured the slave trade and considered it a necessity.  Together with his friend, prime minister William Pitt the Younger, Wilberforce never gives up in his efforts.

I cried throughout much of this film, because it was so incredibly moving, and ultimately uplifting to see people determined to create a kinder and better world.  Wilberforce was played brilliantly by Ioan Gruffudd, who perfectly captured the man’s intelligence and integrity.  Benedict Cumberbatch was also excellent as Pitt, and the supporting cast contained many acclaimed actors.  I liked Rufus Sewell as abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, and Albert Finney and Michael Gambon both showed off their extensive skills as respectively, John Newton who used to be involved with the slave trade himself, and was now filled with guilt; and Charles Fox, a politician who initially disagreed with Wilberforce, but subsequently came to support the abolition.  Romola Garai played Wilberforce’s wife Barbara, and was lovely in the role.

I keep finding myself thinking about this film – it was beautifully filmed and very emotional.  The scene when former slave Olaudah Equiano, played by Youssou n’Dour, shows Wilberforce around a slave ship, and Wilberforce sees with his own eyes the mistreatment and abuse that the slaves suffer, stunned me.  Although I knew about Wilberforce’s campaign, and the eventual outcome prior to watching, I still found myself on the edge of my seat at parts of the story.

I would highly recommend this film (in fact I almost want to insist that you watch it!)  It tells such an important story, and if anyone ever doubts that they can make a difference, or thinks that their efforts aren’t worth it, this film tells the story of a man who can remind us just what can be achieved with hard work and determination.  Wonderful.  (And I have ordered an autobiography of Wilberforce – this is the kind of film that makes me want to learn more.)

Year of release: 2006

Director: Michael Apted

Producers: James Clayton, Jeanney Kim, Duncan Reid, Patricia Heaton, David Hunt, Terrence Malick, Ken Wales, Edward Pressman, Mark Cooper

Writer: Steven Knight

Main cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Youssou D’Nour, Albert Finney, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Nicholas Farrell

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The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947)

Robert Morley and Felix Aylmer are the titular ghosts in this British comedy.  They play, respectively, General ‘Jumbo’ Burlap, and Colonel ‘Bulldog’ Kelsoe, two 18th century soldiers, who accidentally kill themselves in the house they have taken on after retirement.  As they were meant to be entertaining Queen Anne prior to their untimely deaths, they are sentenced in the afterlife to remain as ghosts, haunting the house, until a reigning monarch visits…and as the years roll on, and the house is taken on by a variety of tenants, the chances of that happening look ever less likely.

I can’t deny that the plot of this film is pretty thin, and very ludicrous.  However, it really doesn’t matter, because it’s just so entertaining!  Morley and Aylmer are wonderful as the hapless soldiers (who are just as hapless in their afterlife).  The supporting cast are fine on the whole, although Yvonne Arnaud particularly shines as the manageress of a Bordello house.

Over the years (the film ends during World War 2), as well as being used as the aforementioned Bordello, the property is also a home to an Indian Rajah, the home of the Rex T. Farnum circus (no prizes for guessing who the name of the circus was inspired by), a wartime hospital, and a soldiers’ club, and it was amusing the see Jumbo and Bulldog grow ever more despairing of ever attracting a member of the Royal Family to visit their former home.

My only niggle with this film was some very dodgy racial stereotypes, particularly in the part where the property is inhabited by an Indian Rajah.  The depiction of the Rajah (also played by Robert Morley), and depictions of various other nationalities made me wince.  Apart from that however, there were some genuinely funny scenes in this film, and two excellent leads, playing probably the two most unthreatening ghosts of all time, make it worth a watch.

Year of release: 1947

Director: Vernon Sewell

Producer: Louis H. Jackson

Writers: Caryl Brahms (novel ‘No Nightingales), S.J. Simon (novel ‘No Nightingales’), James Seymour

Main cast: Robert Morley, Felix Aylmer, Yvonne Arnaud

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‘Bitter Sweets’ by Roopa Farooki

This novel starts off in Bangladesh, when Rashid (aka Ricky) Karim, a 17 year old youth with a promising future, is tricked into marrying Henna Rub, a manipulative and deceitful 13 year old, who sees marriage and subsequent motherhood as a way to escape school.

Years later, their daughter Shona elopes with a Pakistani who her family do not approve of.  Shona and her husband Parvez run away to London, where money is short, but they are convinced that their love will keep them together.  They have twin sons, Omar and Sharif.

As all three generations of the family negotiate their way through life, love and lies, they find themselves seemingly headed on a course to disaster.  Will they ever find a way out of their tangled lives?

This book was a very pleasant surprise.  When I started it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but I found myself hooked on the story and eager to find out what would happen next.  The tale takes place in London and Bangladesh, and I enjoyed the descriptions of both places.

If there is a main character, it is probably Shona; she is a beautifully drawn character, and so believable.  She is intelligent and compassionate, but also has very human flaws, lying to herself as often as she tries to hide the truth from others.  I liked her very much.  The other characters are also well developed and easy to believe in.

The storyline had some twists and turns, and kept me hooked.  The family soon became ensnared in the tangled web of lies of which they had become part.  I had no idea how things would turn out, and thought that the ending when it came was very satisfying.  There were themes of humour, sadness, anger and love running throughout the story; the title of this book is very apt, as it was certainly bittersweet.

This is the first book I’ve read by Roopa Farooki, but I am certainly going to seek out her other novels.

(Author’s website can be found here.)

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Elizabeth (1998)

This film tells the story of the early days of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (although, it should be noted that there are a number of historical inaccuracies). Starting from when Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett) is imprisoned by her older sister Mary, Queen of England, the film depicts Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne upon Mary’s death.  When she is made Queen, Elizabeth’s reign is shaky with a lot of opposition to her Protestant religion, and there are traitors in her midst. Her advisor William Cecil urges her to marry and have a child, in order to secure her position as Queen, and there are suitors from the French and Spanish aristocracies (indeed, the King of Spain offers his hand to Elizabeth).  However, she continues an affair with her childhood sweetheart Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes), which she later breaks off when she discovers that he is already married (in the true version of events, Elizabeth was well aware that Robert was married, and she actually attended his wedding; neither did he betray her in real life, as he did in the movie by committing treason against her.  He remained a loyal servant throughout his life).  Eventually she turns down all offers of marriage and declares herself married only to England.  She is shown cutting off all her hair and adopting the persona of the Virgin Queen (in real life, she did not cut her hair, although she did wear a wig later in life, due to her hair thinning after a bout of smallpox).

Despite the historical inaccuracies – many of which are clearly in place because they make the film more watchable and dramatic than the true version of events – this is a very compelling film and I found that I did not want to stop watching at all.

Cate Blanchett is of course excellent as Queen Elizabeth, initially showing the sense of fun which the queen had as a young girl.  However, disappointments and betrayals by those she trusts cause her to lose her somewhat carefree nature and harden her heart.  This is all shown very well, as is Elizabeth’s determination and inner strength, at a time when women were not considered to be worthy of having an opinion.  Vincent Cassel is also worthy of note as Henry III of France, one of the potential suitors.  He provides some moments of comic relief throughout the film, as he is depicted as fun loving, flamboyant and rather outrageous.  Joseph Fiennes is fine as Robert Dudley, but the best supporting actor is surely Christopher Eccleston, as the queen’s traitorous cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, who considers Elizabeth to be a heretic.  There were some unusual casting choices however; I was most surprised to see Eric Cantona playing a French Ambassador.  Maybe because he is such a well known face, I found him hard to believe in in this role.  I also believe that Kathy Burke (who is a superb actress) was miscast as Queen Mary.  Again however, this may be because people are so used to seeing her in completely different roles.

Overall however, this was a fascinating and engrossing film, and I look forward to watching the sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Years, very soon.

Year of release: 1998

Director: Shekhar Kapur

Writer: Michael Hirst

Main cast: Cate Blanchett, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston

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‘Edward Trencom’s Nose’ by Giles Milton

Edward Trencom has always lived an unremarkable life. He is the owner of Trencom’s cheese shop in London, and is married to the feisty Elizabeth. The only thing that makes Edward stand out from the crowd is his very unusual nose. Not only is it unusual in shape, but it is also extremely sensitive to all sorts of smells.

Edward’s life of normalcy soon appears under threat however, when he realises that he is being followed, and also unearths documentation relating to his family history. As Edward investigates the Trencoms who came before him, he realises that the last nine generations of his family have come to a sticky end, and it looks like he might be about to do so as well.

This book has a lot of mystery, mixed in with some eccentric comedy, and while unlikely to be very memorable in the long term, it is certainly an amusing and enjoyable read.

The characters are funny and quirky, and while I didn’t find myself caring about them particularly deeply, I was eager to read on and find out what happened throughout the story.

I would definitely read more by this author.  (One word of warning – if you like eating cheese, this book might make you crave some!)

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‘The Thirteenth Tale’ by Diane Setterfield

I loved this book.

Margaret Lea is a sometime biographer and fulltime bibliophile, who receives a summons to write the biography of elusive author Vida Winter. Nobody has ever been able to get the true story of Miss Winter’s life before, and her past has always been shrouded in mystery.

Margaret sets out on her task with some trepidation, and learns the history of Angelfield house, and the Angelfield family – Isabelle, Charlie, Adeline and Emmeline. Their story is one with lots of twists and turns, where nothing is quite what it seems.

Margaret finds herself becoming more and more drawn into Vida Winter’s life story, which resonates with her own.

The characters – especially those of Margaret, Adeline and Emmeline – are well drawn and fully fleshed out.  The writing is love, infusing the story has a sense of tension – and I could not have begun to guess how it would end!

Beautifully written, this is a gothic tale of family history, and the tangled webs people weave. I thought that reading it would be something of a chore, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Wonderful!

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‘The Historian’ by Elizabeth Kostova

I don’t think any book has ever taken me as long to read as this one!

A young girl finds a mysterious book and asks her father about it. He then tells her his own story about how he had found a similar book years before, and had spoken to his mentor about it. The book had taken him on a journey through Eastern Europe, to try to find the tomb of Dracula. The book is told mainly through the father’s letters.

It is obviously very well researched, and very informative about the life of Vlad The Impaler. It never resorts to the gratuitous gore that books in this genre can sometimes be guilty of.

However, I did feel that it dragged somewhat throughout the middle part, and I found that I was not always enjoying it. However, the ending – perhaps the last 200 pages – are superb, and really held my attention.  I think the book would have benefited from having been a couple of hundred pages shorter, as the middle part became rather confusing at times.

The characters are well crafted, with the main character (unnamed) really being brought to life.

Overall, I would recommend the book, especially to anyone with an interest in the horror genre, or an interest in Dracula, but I’m not sure that I would read anything else by this author.

(Author’s website can be found here.)

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