Wah-Wah (DVD)

Actor Richard E. Grant makes his directorial debut with this beguiling, semi-autobiographical dramatic comedy set in Swaziland at the end of British colonialism. Gabriel Byrne plays a member of the reigning British government, a cabal of hard-drinking, sexually duplicitous upper-crust types living in the thick heat of the African desert. Miranda Richardson plays Harry`s wife, who runs off with another man. It`s all seen through they eyes of the son who then comes home from boarding school to learn that his dad has married a feisty American (Emma Watson) and has developed a full-blown drinking problem. Meanwhile the British government is preparing to grant the country its independence, and the club mounts a production of CAMELOT to celebrate the arrival of Princess Margaret. Grant captures the anxiety-fueled perspective of a child forced to witness debauched adult behavior and the African backdrop is vividly etched (it`s filmed entirely in Swaziland). As one might expect in a movie directed by a respected British actor, the cast is peerless: Byrne delivers a highly complex performance, veering from harrowing scenes of alcoholic violence to stiff-upper-lipped affectation; Watson breathes a wealth of dimension into a role that might have been a caricature of American crassness; Zachary Fox plays the pre-boarding school version of Ralph; and Nicholas Hoult plays Ralph`s older incarnation. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.