Stan & Ollie (2018) - Brilliant work in simple, hilarious homage masterpiece

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+ 3rd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best Dramedy of the Year + English Movie of the Year + Best Homage of the Year + Best Period Movie of the Year + Best Shooting Star Actress of the Year: Nina Arianda

A hat in mid-air and the two stars in full character getup feature on this simple poster for Jon S. Baird's Stan & Ollie

Laurel and Hardy reach the top as cinema's most beloved comedy double act in the 1930s but never achieve the great financial wealth or creative ownership of some of their peers. In 1953 the two are back together after many years apart in order to revive their joint career with an English tour; but reigniting stardom while staying friends proves no easy feat.

Stan & Ollie is written by Jeff Pope (Philomena (2013)), inspired by A.J. Marriot's book Laurel & Hardy - The British Tours (1993), and directed by Scottish master filmmaker Jon S. Baird (Filth (2013)), whose 3rd feature it is.
This is a simple and sincere, unseeming masterpiece; an honest, exceedingly good film, which simply doesn't have a flaw to it that's worth mentioning. Stan & Ollie is a film about friendship and professional companionship; about comedy and performing, and about life, getting something worthwhile out of it, and about reaching its inevitable end.
The film brims with enthusiasm and affection for its duo of subjects and their comedy, which is recreated with rare bravura by the master performances of acting greats Steve Coogan (The Other Guys (2010)) and John C. Reilly (Sing (2016)), who even give a great song performance with Trail of the Lonesome Pine. Coogan's empathized and impressively detailed invocation of Stan Laurel is awesome, and Reilly's inhabiting of the quite different Oliver Hardy is just as good. Their comedic acts highlight Laurel & Hardy's simpler, good-for-all brand of universal comedy, which seems to have all but disappeared now; but boy what a joy it is to see it back for a good show here in Stan & Ollie, - and boy, did the two of them make me laugh!
The film also has good supporting performances: Rufus Jones (Camping (2016, miniseries)) is spot-on as the dubious British booking agent, Shirley Henderson (Yes (2004)) is just right as Ollie's adoring shrew wife, but it is Nina Arianda (Hannibal (2015, TV-series)) who steals scenes and gets more than a few laughs of her own as Stan's imperiously proud, brief and lingually challenged Russian émigré wife. Fondly remembered from her turn in the comparable period showbiz dramedy Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), Arianda has a meatier part here and stands out.
Stan & Ollie has good production values, and it never sentimentalizes its time period by glossing it up. The photography is simple and to the point; SPOILER only in the final performance we linger profoundly at the duo's shadows on the stage, as Ollie's declining health forces them to the precipice of their collaboration.
The film opens with a delightful, long Steadicam shot through a major Hollywood studio in full swing, and the script tells the story with perfect command, never rushing, but getting its points down nonetheless, SPOILER reaching a (for some audiences personally) familiar culmination, where hard words are uttered between the two pals, which hurt like stab wounds.
Stan & Ollie is a wonderful film. - Don't miss seeing it on a big screen!

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Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 10 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 21.7 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say, - but presently a flop
[Stan & Ollie premiered 21 October (BFI London Film Festival, UK) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place in England, including London, in the spring of 2017. Reilly reportedly spent 4 hours daily in the makeup chair. The film opened #32 to a 78k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #20 and in 754 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 5.4 mil. $ (24.9 % of the total gross) North America was the film's 2nd biggest market; the UK were by far the biggest with a 13.6 mil. $ (62.7 %). Italy looks to be the 3rd biggest now, with 946k $ (4.4 %). The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, 3 BAFTAs and 7 British Independent Film awards, winning none. It has yet to open in at least two more markets: Israel (6 June) and Turkey (28 June). Baird does not have an announced follow-up yet. Coogan returned in Hot Air (2018), Reilly in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) with a voice performance and physically in Holmes & Watson (2018). Stan & Ollie is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.48/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Stan & Ollie?

Philomena (2013) - Dench astounds in Frears' powerful true-story drama

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+ Best True-Story Movie of the Year

+ Best English Movie of the Year

 

The posters for Stephen Frears' Philomena didn't catch my interest, as they seem rather bland and certainly don't relate the actual power of the film, in my opinion

 

Martin has been fired from his political job and looks for a story for a book, when one happens to fall into his lap: Ageing Philomena had her bastard child taken from her by nuns 50 years ago.

As noted above, the Philomena posters don't relate the film's narrative power, which is clear all the way through Jeff Pope (The Place of the Dead (1997, TVM) and Steve Coogan's (The Parole Officer (2001)) Oscar-nominated, excellent adapted script, based on Coogan's character Martin Sixsmith's (Putin's Oil (2010)) 2009 book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. The film is directed by English master filmmaker Stephen Frears (Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)) in exemplary fashion; it plays our emotional chords as a violin with great command throughout.

Philomena is technically astute, with an outstanding score by Alexandre Desplat (Reality (2012)). Coogan and Judi Dench (The World Is Not Enough (1999)) illuminate the screen as few can and both stand out as completely real characters while also often being downright hilarious. Dench has never been better than here and is really something of a miracle. All the secondary characters are ideally cast.

Philomena is among the year's best, a rare gem that I can't recommend enough.

 

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Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2013 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED VI] 

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 12 mil. $

Box office: 100.1 mil. $

= Huge hit

[Philomena premiered August 31 (Venice International Film Festival) and runs 98 minutes. Filming took place in Maryland, Washington D.C., England and Northern Ireland from October 2012 - January 2013. The film only takes minor artistic licenses in its relation of the true story. It opened #28 in 4 theaters with 128k $ and peaked at #8 in 835 theaters in North America, where it grossed 37.7 mil. $ (37.6 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 18.4 mil. $ (18.4 %) and Australia with 10.1 mil. $ (10.1 %). The film was nominated for 4 Oscars: For Best Picture (lost to 12 Years a Slave), Actress (Dench) (lost to Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine), Adapted Screenplay (lost to 12 Years a Slave) and Score (lost to Gravity). It was also nominated for 3 Golden Globes and 4 BAFTAs. Philomena is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Philomena?