Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXV -- British Leads

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is the second in the Knives Out series.  I watched the first one, but I don't recall whether I wrote about it.  Regardless, I enjoyed this one more; it had some genuinely funny moments.  Daniel Craig stars (again) as Detective Benoit Blanc, with a pretty good supporting cast behind him.

I was surprised that I had never heard of Croupier.  It came out in 1998 and stars Clive Owen in the lead role.  I love the film noir style of storytelling, and it was a pretty decent story to boot.  A bit dark, but I like that. Also imagine my surprise to find ER's Dr. Elizabeth Corday (played by Alex Kingston, who is also British) with a role in this one. What a treat that was!

The Dig has two British leads: Carey Mulligan (whom I love) as Edith Pretty, the landowner, and Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown, the archaeologist.  Despite her failing health, Ms. Pretty engages Mr. Brown to excavate a portion of her property.  Things do not seem to be going well, but turn around with a huge discovery.  It's based on the true story of the discovery of the Sutton Hoo treasure in the 1930s.

Little Women is a mixed bag in terms of where folks are from, but there are enough who are British or British-adjacent that I'm counting it.  Here's who we've got: Emma Watson (British, but French-born) as Meg; Saoirse Ronan (Irish, but American-born) as Jo; Eliza Scanlen as Beth (Australian); and Florence Pugh (British) as Amy.  Nothing, for me, will top the 1994 version of this movie, but S has a crush on Saoirse, so we needed to see this one; his description of her with short hair, though, was priceless: "She looks like a pencil eraser." I did not like that the story was told out of order; I know it well and still had trouble following it.

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is a strange story about an eccentric artist.  Obviously, Benedict Cumberbatch (another one I love) was perfect for the role. Claire Foy (who plays Queen Elizabeth in a season or two of The Crown - how much more British can you get?) plays his wife.  I don't really remember the details of this one, but I do remember that I was impressed by my boy Benedict.

I loved Still Life.  It was sad, but also oh-so-sweet.  It stars Eddie Marsan as a quiet bureaucrat whose job is to track down the next-of-kin of people who died alone.  London, though the backdrop, is visible throughout, which of course I adored. It was a quiet little jewel, with the pleasant surprise of Joanne Froggart (Anna from Downton Abbey) as an added bonus.

Benediction stars Jack Lowden as Siegfried Sassoon.  Those folks who are interested in the niche area of World War I poetry will immediately recognize the name of Mr. Sassoon.  The film is clever, even - dare I say? - poetic at times.  It's the backstory about the poet's family, how he came to serve in WWI, and his experiences, but also who he was after the war, the impact that it had on him, and the impact that he had on government and policy.  Not the best movie I've seen, but good enough and tells a little-known piece of history.

Another British-ish lead, Hunger stars Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands.  The actor's father was German and he was born in Germany, but his mother was from Northern Ireland.  This film was recommended to S and I during our recent visit to Northern Ireland, as a way to get a little more perspective on the Troubles. It was dark - though not in a fun way like Croupier - but with some more artistic shots.  The film really turns Bobby Sands into a hero, which is quite how the Catholics in Northern Ireland appear to view him.  What he - and anyone else who goes on a hunger strike - did, is quite astonishing.  And also horrifying.