RUPERT & DAN Movie Retrospectacle Post #2
For the month of December, lena3 and I are looking back upon Rupert and Dan's cinematic escapades.
Lena's reviews are here: Rupert in INTO THE WHITE; Dan in WHAT IF .
My ramblings are here: Rupert in DRIVING LESSONS.
Please check 'em out! And without further adieu:
MY BOY JACK (2007)
Director: Brian Kirk
Screenplay: David Haig, based on his stage play.
Starring: David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, Kim Cattrall & Carey Mulligan
Britain, 1914. Rudyard Kipling (Haig) is the most popular contemporary author of the time. He has the ear of King George V, and as the youngest Nobel Prize winner for Literature in history, he is regularly called upon to compose suitably stirring articles and pamphlets espousing the virtues of British colonialism. A staunch supporter of the Empire and its defence, Kipling has instilled that same drive and fervour in his only son, John (Radcliffe), whom everyone calls Jack.
As Germany marches through Europe threatening the Isles, Kipling pulls strings to land Jack a position in the Royal Navy. Unfortunately, Jack's eyesight requires corrective lenses, and without his glasses, Jack cannot pass the basic eye exam required for military service. Despondent and eager to get out of the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the family estate, Jack commiserates with his equally restless sister Elise (Mulligan), nicknamed Bird.
Jack's mother, Caroline (Cattrall) is philosophical about the business, urging Kipling to use his influence to secure Jack a stable, though deskbound position within the War Office. Kipling eschews her advice, bending the rules to secure Jack a position as a commissioned officer in the Irish Guards.
Caroline is incensed and distraught, as is Bird, yet Kipling feels vindicated as Jack overcomes his disability and earns high marks during his training. Jack and his battalion are sent to France in August of 1915, where, on Jack's eighteenth birthday, his unit is dispatched to attack a rather formidable German machine gun emplacement near Loos.
Though a made-for-TV film, everything about the production is earnest and first-rate; the settings and costumes are what one would expect of a large budget feature film. Haig is superb as the domineering Kipling, so overtaken by his dedication to preserving the Empire that he willingly sends his only son into the meatgrinder of trench warfare. The fact that Kipling was well aware of how profoundly outmanned and outgunned the British troops were, not to mention the horrific casualty rates of commissioned officers (to which he was privy), makes his decision even less understandable.
Cattrall gives a strong performance as Jack's American mother, deftly balancing Caroline's disgust with her husband's decision with the necessity of discerning Jack's ultimate fate. Mulligan's Bird is a stand-out for such a small role, providing the only voice of reason before and after Jack's posting.
My Boy Jack, December Boys and Order of the Phoenix were all filmed/produced in 2007, and Racliffe really shines here; it's so enjoyable to watch his development as an actor. His Jack is far more than just a historical footnote; Jack wants to make his own way, to get out from under the ponderous shadow that is Rudyard Kipling, yet he also yearns to make his father proud. Radcliffe manages all this, and more.
A supremely satisfying dramatization, which treats the subject matter with the utmost reverence and respect. As a war film, though, the concepts and ultimate questions we are left to ponder are somber and not entirely uplifting. Jack's fate, and those of tens of thousands like him in that great and horrible war, still echo through to us today.
What have we learned from such sacrifice? What must we do to properly honour their memory? And to prevent it from ever happening again?
The Wikipedia entry for John Kipling can be found HERE
Here is Kipling's poem, My Boy Jack:
“Have you news of my boy Jack?”
Not this tide.
“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.
“Has any one else had word of him?”
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.
“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind -
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.
Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!
Runtime: 93 minutes
Release: 11/11/07 ITV (UK); 04/20/08 PBS (US)
Rating: Not Rated (US); 16 (UK)
Formats: DVD R1 (US) DVD R2 (UK)
Netflix: No
Amazon Instant Video: No
Google Play: No
Lena's reviews are here: Rupert in INTO THE WHITE; Dan in WHAT IF .
My ramblings are here: Rupert in DRIVING LESSONS.
Please check 'em out! And without further adieu:
MY BOY JACK (2007)
Director: Brian Kirk
Screenplay: David Haig, based on his stage play.
Starring: David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, Kim Cattrall & Carey Mulligan
Britain, 1914. Rudyard Kipling (Haig) is the most popular contemporary author of the time. He has the ear of King George V, and as the youngest Nobel Prize winner for Literature in history, he is regularly called upon to compose suitably stirring articles and pamphlets espousing the virtues of British colonialism. A staunch supporter of the Empire and its defence, Kipling has instilled that same drive and fervour in his only son, John (Radcliffe), whom everyone calls Jack.
As Germany marches through Europe threatening the Isles, Kipling pulls strings to land Jack a position in the Royal Navy. Unfortunately, Jack's eyesight requires corrective lenses, and without his glasses, Jack cannot pass the basic eye exam required for military service. Despondent and eager to get out of the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the family estate, Jack commiserates with his equally restless sister Elise (Mulligan), nicknamed Bird.
Jack's mother, Caroline (Cattrall) is philosophical about the business, urging Kipling to use his influence to secure Jack a stable, though deskbound position within the War Office. Kipling eschews her advice, bending the rules to secure Jack a position as a commissioned officer in the Irish Guards.
Caroline is incensed and distraught, as is Bird, yet Kipling feels vindicated as Jack overcomes his disability and earns high marks during his training. Jack and his battalion are sent to France in August of 1915, where, on Jack's eighteenth birthday, his unit is dispatched to attack a rather formidable German machine gun emplacement near Loos.
Though a made-for-TV film, everything about the production is earnest and first-rate; the settings and costumes are what one would expect of a large budget feature film. Haig is superb as the domineering Kipling, so overtaken by his dedication to preserving the Empire that he willingly sends his only son into the meatgrinder of trench warfare. The fact that Kipling was well aware of how profoundly outmanned and outgunned the British troops were, not to mention the horrific casualty rates of commissioned officers (to which he was privy), makes his decision even less understandable.
Cattrall gives a strong performance as Jack's American mother, deftly balancing Caroline's disgust with her husband's decision with the necessity of discerning Jack's ultimate fate. Mulligan's Bird is a stand-out for such a small role, providing the only voice of reason before and after Jack's posting.
My Boy Jack, December Boys and Order of the Phoenix were all filmed/produced in 2007, and Racliffe really shines here; it's so enjoyable to watch his development as an actor. His Jack is far more than just a historical footnote; Jack wants to make his own way, to get out from under the ponderous shadow that is Rudyard Kipling, yet he also yearns to make his father proud. Radcliffe manages all this, and more.
A supremely satisfying dramatization, which treats the subject matter with the utmost reverence and respect. As a war film, though, the concepts and ultimate questions we are left to ponder are somber and not entirely uplifting. Jack's fate, and those of tens of thousands like him in that great and horrible war, still echo through to us today.
What have we learned from such sacrifice? What must we do to properly honour their memory? And to prevent it from ever happening again?
The Wikipedia entry for John Kipling can be found HERE
Here is Kipling's poem, My Boy Jack:
“Have you news of my boy Jack?”
Not this tide.
“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.
“Has any one else had word of him?”
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.
“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind -
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.
Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!
Runtime: 93 minutes
Release: 11/11/07 ITV (UK); 04/20/08 PBS (US)
Rating: Not Rated (US); 16 (UK)
Formats: DVD R1 (US) DVD R2 (UK)
Netflix: No
Amazon Instant Video: No
Google Play: No
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