Dir. Toa Fraser, New Zealand/UK, 2008, 100 mins
Cast: Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Peter O'Toole, Bryan Brown
Review by Carol Allen
This is an offbeat and very charming film set in England in 1904 and based on a novel by one Edward Plunkett, Baron Dunsany. It is though, in this incarnation at least, reminiscent of his contemporary G.K. Chesterton both in its story and in the style of the writing, particularly the measured and stylish period voice of the narration by the central character, Henslowe Fisk (Northam).
Henslowe and his ailing father Horatio (O'Toole) lead the leisured lives of the well-heeled English gentlemen of the day. Their relationship however is one of unease. To amuse his father, Henslowe takes him to a lecture about reincarnation given by a Swami (Art Malik) and there meets and becomes fascinated with Dean Spanley (Neill). Henslowe cultivates the Dean's friendship and discovers that under the influence of his favourite tipple, the rare Imperial Tokay from Hungary, he will recount strange tales of his previous life as a dog. In a totally unexpected way Stanley's recollections help Henslowe and his irascible father to reconcile their uncomfortable relationship.
The film is very funny in a gentle, totally unmalicious and English gentlemanly way. Henslowe's world is very much a man's – there are no significant women apart from Judy Parfitt as the down-to-earth housekeeper, who is something of a soul sister to Sherlock Holmes's Mrs Hudson. It evokes a period when the English gent ruled the world by right and was cheerfully politically incorrect, as were his colonial cousins, on such matters as "pygmies" – a reference which is shocking to today's audience but forgiveable because it's part of the period into which we are so effectively drawn. The performances are impeccable. Northam holds the whole thing together unobtrusively allowing the more colourful characters to shine and there's a lively performance from Bryan Brown as the cheerfully brash entrepreneur, who procures the rare wine for those meetings. Neill as the Dean evokes his doggy incarnation delightfully without ever descending into dog impersonation in the way he sniffs his beloved Tokay and in his voice and gestures, as his alter ego, Wag the dog, tells his story. It's a very subtle performance. The magnificent O'Toole is a delight of English arrogance and eccentricity throughout most of the story. He is the ultimate uncontrollable, privileged Englishman, rigidly certain in all his beliefs and his view of the world but towards the end he reveals a vulnerability, which moves one to tears. The picture of Edwardian England is a delightful one of comfortable houses, gentlemen's clubs and unpaved streets with the sight of the occasional newfangled motor car. Although the film is very heavy on dialogue with much of it being Spanley recalling his life as a dog, the film never seems wordy and it holds the attention throughout. As Wag comes to the climax of his tale, one is hanging on every word, desperate to know the ending.
The screenwriter Alan Sharp has expanded the original novel with his master stroke being the creation of Horatio. It is now a tale about loss, dealing with fear of death and of healing and reconciliation. As a joint UK/New Zealand production it is both very English, while at the same time drawing on the characteristically quirky New Zealand approach to film storytelling, making it something completely different from the usual Christmas movie.
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