Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Gabriel Byrne | ... | Harry Compton | |
Emily Watson | ... | Ruby Compton | |
Julie Walters | ... | Gwen Traherne | |
Nicholas Hoult | ... | Ralph Compton - 14 years | |
Miranda Richardson | ... | Lauren Compton | |
Zac Fox | ... | Ralph Compton - 11 years old | |
Celia Imrie | ... | Lady Riva Hardwick | |
Julian Wadham | ... | Charles Bingham | |
Fenella Woolgar | ... | June Broughton | |
John Matshikiza | ... | Dr. Zim Mzimba | |
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Sid Mitchell | ... | Vernon |
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John Carlisle | ... | Sir Gifford Hardwick |
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Mathokoza Sibiya | ... | Dozen |
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Sindisiswe Nxumalo | ... | Regina |
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Michael Richard | ... | Tobias |
Set at the end of the 1960s, as Swaziland is about to receive independence from Great Britain, this movie follows the young Ralph Compton (Zac Fox), at eleven, through his parents' traumatic separation, till he's fourteen (played by Nicholas Hoult). It was written and directed by Richard E. Grant, and based on true events from Grant's childhood.
Truly fantastic movie. I went to the world premiere last night at Edinburgh Film Festival and was blown away. As much as I like Richard E. Grant, I must confess that I was expecting a rather indulgent art-house auto-biopic. Instead, what we got was a brilliant, superbly paced, wonderfully entertaining feature film that held the audience to the last scene. The first 10 minutes are a little slow, but from then on Grant never puts a foot wrong.
"Wah-Wah" has the right blend of comic situations, gritty family conflict, stunning African scenery and caricatures of latter-day British imperial pretensions to entertain, engage and amaze.
Nicholas Hoult shows that the intensity and charisma evidenced in "About A Boy" were no childhood fluke, while Gabriel Byrne brings a perfect mix of menace and charm to encapsulate the contradictions of Grant's father figure. Special kudos goes to Emily Watson, whose on-screen presence is radiant and lively, rather akin to Rachel Griffiths in "Six Feet Under".
With an assured debut like this, Grant should soon be able to give up those wretched Argos ads for good!