Hampstead
June. 14,2019 PG-13Emily Walters is an American widow living a peaceful, uneventful existence in the idyllic Hampstead Village of London, when she meets local recluse, Donald Horner. For 17 years, Donald has lived—wildly yet peacefully—in a ramshackle hut near the edge of the forest. When Emily learns his home is the target of developers who will stop at nothing to remove him, saving Donald and his property becomes her personal mission. Despite his gruff exterior and polite refusals for help, Emily is drawn to him—as he is to her—and what begins as a charitable cause evolves into a relationship that will grow even as the bulldozers close in.
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Reviews
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Tedious and annoying movie , it was so bad we walked out !
So lovely to see Diane Keaton play a character who thinks she doesn't do anything. I think that feeling is common among givers. They give without realizing they're giving. She's getting to the end of her life and suddenly she realizes she doesn't have anything or anyone. I was moved to see in Keaton's eyes that youthful realization of love. This charming surprise of a film has other hidden pleasures, Brendan Gleeson for instance, his tender wild human is a delight, not to mention Lesley Manville - her scenes are filled with a comic energy that never goes over the top, a real treat. And then Simon Callow as the judge is the icing on the cake. Enjoy.
I really enjoyed the movie. It was a cute film about simple things that matter, about people, about society. Two oldies but goldies ;) Having a roof above your head is important but the interrelationship between people is more important.
In this Joel Hopkins (The Love Punch, Last Chance Harvey) directed and Robert Festinger (Stars in Shorts, Trust) written film, Brendan Gleeson (Gangs of New York, Edge of Tomorrow) stars as Donald Horner, a man who lives in a makeshift house on Hampstead Heath who is befriended by an American widow, Emily Walters played by Diane Keaton (Father of the Bride, The First Wives Club). She is in financial difficulties and urged by both her son Philip (James Norton: Belle, TVs Happy Valley and Grantchester) and friend Fiona (Lesley Manville: Maleficent, Vera Drake) to consult an accountant, she agrees to meet with James Smythe (Jason Watkins: TVs Taboo and Being Human) and to hand out flyers about Fiona's husbands property development and this is when she meets Donald. Drumming up help from some local activists (Hugh Skinner: Les Miserables, TVs W1A), she sorts out a lawyer (Adeel Akhtar: The Dictator, Four Lions) to fight his eviction notice.With a very human story, this drama based on true events is full of sadness, romance and comedy and the workings of society. From an ostracised 'homeless' man to a widow trying to live up to social expectations we see how lifestyles can so easily be turned from successful to difficult and how this can be judged by others. Both main characters have problems and their pride is preventing them from accepting help yet they ultimately realise that they have to be true to themselves and their real friends in order to move on with their lives.Norton is woefully underused and the music score is far too elevator, but the cinematography makes up for this. There is a great turn by Simon Callow (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Viceroy's House) as the judge and although there is a strange moment where Emily, the widow, begins to do things totally out of character, the film has a well-paced gentle if predictable plot with fine acting. The minor characters do seem to be a tad one-dimensional but there is something satisfying about these two outsiders taking on the establishment and winning.