# Winslow Boy, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Jon Popick

PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com

Playwright-turned-filmmaker David Mamet (The Spanish Prisoner) has, in his previous pictures, created gritty, urban crime dramas full of seedy characters that bombard viewers with machine-gun-like expletives and unpredictable double-crosses. So why would Mamet, who until now had written each of his directorial efforts, adapt Terence Rattigan's 1946 stage play for his next film project?

It doesn't matter - Mamet's leap into the period genre is magnificent. The story, set in 1912, focuses on a real-life incident in turn-of-the-century England in which the 13-year-old son of a wealthy London banker is accused of stealing a five-pound postal note and is unduly expelled from the posh Osbourne Naval College. Ronnie (Guy Edwards) continues to profess his innocence, earning the support of his pop (Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George) and sis (Rebecca Pidgeon, Mamet's wife), who eventually hire Robert Morton (Jeremy Northam, Emma), the country's top attorney, to both defend the boy and right the good Winslow name.

The case becomes a national frenzy, spawning O.J.-like tabloid stories and political cartoons as the Winslow family drains its considerable finances to proceed with the case that most insiders believe is a lost cause, as well as a colossal waste of both time and money. Mamet's characters, while not as slimy and crooked as we're used to, still speak in hypnotically rhythmic salvos. Northam really steals the show with his portrayal of the attention-loving lawyer that can't seem to decide whether he's involved in the case for the fame, the money, the moralistic battle or for Pidgeon's Catherine. And when was the last time you liked an attorney in a film? (1:50 – G for just about nothing)

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