Joe's Palace (BBC) [DVD][2007]

My only previous introduction to Steven Poliakoff's work was `Gideon's Daughter', a film that managed to blend entertainment and emotional depth in a way that held my attention when its premise might otherwise have passed me by. I think what ultimately made it successful was Bill Nighy's performance with its measured subtly full of depth, yet never over the top. Like `Gideon's Daughter' `Joe's Palace' is a subtle, intelligent and heart breaking piece of drama, with an excellent cast headed by the truly magnificent Michael Gambon. His performance here harkens back to his amazing turn in `The Singing Detective', as he plays Eliot an ageing millionaire agonising over where his inherited fortune came from. As a result of his existential crisis Eliot is unable to enjoy his fortune and properties so he entrusts his `Palace' into the care of Joe (Danny Lee Wynter), the housekeeper's son. Largely left to his own devices Joe has free reign of the palace, until charismatic politician Richard (Rupert Penry- Jones) makes use of its discreet surroundings to engage in an affair with a married woman called Charlotte (Kelly Reilly). In turn Joe is unwittingly drawn into the adult affairs of Eliot, Richard and Charlotte, and he begins to elaborate on the strange goings on of the `palace' in his journal. While `Joe's Palace' is far from perfect- there are loose ends that are never really tied up, inconsistencies and subtly appears to be favoured over clarification- it is a drama with enough emotional resonance and excellent performances to redeem itself. It is also beautifully shot, perhaps acting as a contrast to the loneliness of the main characters. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Eliot and Joe watch old fashioned moving pictures in his private cinema. The scene is shot from behind the actors, creating a panoramic illusion of the two men sitting atop a bus as it moves through the city. In this scene Eliot explains that he has to look to the past in order for him to move forward and accept his wealth. As the film moves nearer to the denouement where he discovers the truth about his father's fortune, the impact it has on Eliot is delivered powerfully by Gambon and exposes the brutal corruption behind his inherited wealth. `Joe's Palace' is an excellent character study of the human psyche, loneliness, and betrayal. I thought this film was almost good enough for the silver screen, but thankfully it debuted on BBC 1, where hopefully it was watched by a much wider audience than it might have had at the cinema. And to think I nearly watched `A Room with A View' on ITV instead!

I was greatly disappointed in this film. The actors played their roles as well as possible without much meaningful dialogue and a very unbelievable story line. The story, or non-story left me cold. The plot was confusing. We have had enough of the Nazis and I, for one, think using them in this movie was ridiculous. I gave this a two star rating for the music and some wonderful shots. Save your money and skip this one.

I thought this was beautiful to look at and listen to. The same sort of background music is used in 'Perfect strangers' and 'Shooting the Past'. The characters tend to talk in the same precise way as in all the Poliakoff
productions, that I have seen anyway. That is something I have also noticed with adaptions of John Le Carre's works. Is that useful ? maybe not.

I thought Danny Lee Wynter was fascinating as Joe, a likable sort of innocent, though not so innocent as he may seem. Not as slow either. I also liked Rebecca Hall, who brought a witty touch to it. Rupert Penry-Jones and Kelly Reilly provide the eye candy, and are also very good.

Needless to say, Michael Gambon was superb.