Nice Movies

Yes, sometimes we review movies that feature amiable characters, light humour, and tender orchestral music scores by skilled composers. A while back we reviewed two soundtracks released by MovieScore Media, and we’ve now got corresponding film reviews, although only one is available in Region 1 land.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont stars Joan Plowright, was directed by Dan Ireland (The Whole Wide World), and is based on a novel by Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress. The author). The film was recently released on DVD by Westlake Entertainment, and contains an appropriately affectionate commentary track by the film’s director and co-producer, both of whom pay homage towards newcomer Stephen Barton, who composed the film’s lovely music.

Like the film proper, Nigel Clark and Michael Csányi-Wills’ music score to The Rocket Post was also released last year, nearly 3 years after the film’s completion. It’s an odd, sometimes creative dramatization of one Gerhard Zucker, a German rocket scientist who traveled to the isle of Scarp in pre-WWII Scotland to sell a prototype for sending mail to and from the mainland by rocket. (This weird historical footnote was also given a nod in BBC’s Coast series, Season 1, episode 7: Solway, Firth to Skye.)

Like Mrs. Palfrey, the film boasts a beautiful score, and shifts from a lighthearted comedy to more dramatic plot twists. Manipulative? Sure, but in a good way, PLUS it stars Shauna Macdonald, best known for her appearance on Spooks / aka MI-5, Season 2, and more importantly, as the kick-ass chick who keeps slimy CHUDS at bay in Neil Marshall’s excellent thriller, The Descent (2005).

It’s a shame the film has yet to enjoy a release in North America, but we’ve got a review of Lionsgate’s Region 2 DVD.

Coming next: The first titles from Anchor Bay’s new Dario Argento Collection.

And imminent: Ill-conceived, exploitive odes to Black Power – Legend Films' release of Mandingo (1975), plus a film review of Uncle Tom’s Cabin / Onkel Tom’s Hutte (1965).

- MRH



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