This is one of those films that you feel might have been really good if only they'd taken a little more time and trouble. Matthew MacFadyen has, I suppose a following amongst the kind of teenage girl who fancies Jude Law, Ewan McGregor et al and they may well be disappointed when they find out they have to actually THINK if they want to follow this. MacFadyen is currently playing Prince Hal/Henry V in Henry IV Parts I and 2 at the National Theatre in London so a Kiwi accent shouldn't really be beyond him but either he or the director decided to trade on the fact that THIS particular Kiwi has been touring the world for the last 17 years and managed to acquire only an English accent out of all those available. No matter, that's a small beef and he does at least act well as does his co-star Emily Barclay. It's one of those meandering, labyrinthine plots liberally laced with red herrings and the kind of denouement reminiscent of those detective stories written in the 20s and 30s when the author, with no imagination to speak of, introduced a brand new character on the last page just so he/she could turn out to be the murderer. This isn't QUITE so bereft of ideas but it doesn't really play fair with the audience. In sum: fine acting, especially from the two leads, good camera-work, lousy plotting.
Review of In My Father's Den
