Reviews

This may suffer from having a few too many plot lines and characters (Emily Watson, for example, is a role too far), but most of what's there is excellent. Bill Murray is as good as he has been recently in Rushmore and Lost in Translation, and the Cusacks are at their best. This is a film that lingers with you after you've seen it, and gives a fascinating insight into a turbulent time.

This tells the story of Lord Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, two rebel leaders during the English Civil war in the 1640s. The rose up against the King, who claimed to rule by divine appointment. However, once the battles were fought, the politics began, and Fairfax finds himself torn between his loyalty to his friend Cromwell, his love for his royalist sympathising wife, and his fear for his own life and that of his unborn child. The film is less than perfectly balanced between the many themes which it addresses, but is an interesting comment on a period of history not much covered on film in recent years.

Probably the best film of the year. The trick is not to take it seriously, it isn't meant to be a serious film. If you do that, you'll love it. If you don't then see a psychiatrist. The D.V.D. is also excellent with a lot of special features (including the TV appearances of Derek) and a hilarious introduction from 'Derek Zoolander' when you put the D.V.D. in the machine. Quality stuff.