The Winslow Boy (1999)

The Winslow Boy

Call No: TEMP 1130

I seem to be on a British movies kick lately. I’m not sure what it is exactly that I love so much about them. Maybe it’s the quiet charm and elegance. Maybe it’s the simplicity of the period movies. Or maybe I’m cleansing my film palette with some quiet, subtle films before I get swept away in the inevitable tide of busy, action-packed summer blockbusters. In any rate, the subtlety of some of the films that the Brits produce manage to satisfy my craving for a good story, intriguing characters and a charming setting.

Based on a play of the same name by Terence Rattigan, The Winslow Boy is a movie about pursuing the truth, no matter what the risk and the sacrifices made. When Ronnie, the youngest Winslow, is expelled from a prominent academy on accusations of stealing, the family is determined to seek out justice. Their best chance of achieving it is in the hopes of recruiting Sir Robert Morton, an exceptional lawyer, charismatic orator and member of the House of Commons. Through the determination of Morton, Ronnie’s father and his sister Katherine, the Winslow boy’s reputation might be saved... but at what cost?

If you’re looking for a film with major plot developments and twists and turns, this isn’t the film for you. This film focuses on the accusations and the legal proceedings around the boy’s defence and trial, but it’s done without showing us the inside of a single courtroom. Instead, the film focuses on the family and shows us behind the scenes what one family is willing to do to save someone’s reputation. It is a quiet film and a period piece, which for some people can mean two reasons not to watch it. The third aspect of the film is that there is an underlying romance, developed through the subtle sexual tension of Robert Morton and Katherine Winslow. While the romance is highlighted it never serves to detract from the rest of the family, the dire situation they’ve found themselves in, or the sacrifices made.

The tensions between Morton and Kate provides a refreshing, secondary story.

What I liked most is how the film is set at an important point in history, but it does not allow the history of the time to interfere with the importance of the story. Robert Morton is a speaker in the House of Commons and we’re told he has voted more than once against women’s rights. Katherine is an inwardly determined suffragette who does nothing to hide or show off her beliefs. While this provides most of the tension between the two, the underlying issue of women’s suffrage never takes center stage, although it could. The whole movie could have just as easily been about Morton and Katherine. It’s Ronnie that brings the sympathetic feeling to it, the innocence of the film.

The other thing I enjoyed about the film is the way that it makes use of its visual abilities. Based on a play, the original stage production used dialogue as well as body movements to indicate the character’s feelings. The film is allowed to bring us visibly closer to the characters, and therefore able to pick up smaller and more subtle hints. One of the best shots in the film comes from Katherine and Morton’s first meeting. The way that it’s filmed is something that would have been difficult to pull off on stage with the same effectiveness. The film does a successful job on every front, and while there isn’t a special effect or explosion to be seen, the realness of the characters and the question of justice in the story make it worth a watch.