Hyde Park on Hudson [DVD]

What a pleasant surprise this little film was. It tells the story of FDR's relationship with Daisy, concentrating on the time around King George's awkward first visit in America, shortly before the outbreak of WW2. FDR (Bill Murray) escapes the pressures of office and the two powerful women in his life, his mother and his wife Eleanor, by spending time with Daisy (Laura Linney), a distant cousin. The visit of the insecure, stuttering young British King and his wife is seen as an unavoidable nuissance by the Americans, and the presence of the stiff and formal British royals in the rather informal country house in upstate New York (Hyde Park on Hudson) causes tension. However, the two men soon manage to forge a strong bond.The story is based on the diaries of the real Daisy, discovered after her death many years after the events shown in the film. For those viewers who, like me, know nothing about FDR's affair with Daisy and little about his meeting with the King, the director's feature length commentary included in the extra features is very helpful in understanding how much of the story is fact, and how much is fictional embellishment.The acting is very good all round, Samuel West is wonderful as the awkward young King, and Olivia Colman works unexpectedly well as the queen. I also loved Olivia Williams as Eleanor Roosevelt and the 90 year old Elizabeth Wilson is simply outstanding as FDR's forceful mother. The real surprise for me was Bill Murray. I am not usually a great fan of him and found it hard to imagine him as FDR. Boy, was I wrong! He is quite wonderful in this film and his performance here changed my opinion of him as an actor completely. The one person I could not get excited about is Laura Linney, but perhaps that is due to her character, Daisy, whom I could not warm to. There is nothing wrong with Linney's performance, it merely failed to leave a lasting impression.The quality of the DVD is good. Picture and sound are clear, and the extra features included provide valuable insights for those interested in both the making of the film and the historical events the story is based on.

This is another one of those DVDs which I decided to purchase because of the actor names taking part - in particular the never-disappointing Olivia Colman. Sure enough, Colman didn't disappoint, or indeed did any of the excellent leads. This film seems to be the latest in a new format - taking a slim story (apparently FDR had a series of mistresses - interesting concept, since he was paralyzed from the waist down) )and using it to create a vehicle for big stars, which will then of course bring in the viewers. I think the main point was meant to be the impact that King George VI and Queen Elizabeth had on FDR and the American people at a crucial time of decision regarding the USA's involvement in WW2, but I felt it was very much overshadowed by the President's private life. No mention was made of the speech given by the Queen to the women of America, which I understood was pivotal at the time. Whether true or not, it made me feel a bit sad that this is the way Holywood has decided to remember America's greatest President.

This is an excellent film, with top performances from the stars. Bill Murray is terrific at FDR. Samuel West delivers a moving performance as George VI, Olivia Colman gives one of her best earlier performances as Queen Elizabeth, and Laura Linney and Olivia Williams give solidly good performances as Daisy and Eleanor Roosevelt respectively. This film is an insightful look at a surprisingly under-represented American President in film, masterly put together by the director of Notting Hill, Roger Michell. Well worth a watch!

Based on a true story- it was a good film watchable without violence well reconstructed even allowing artistic licensing it made for a very pleasant evening - even allowing for a family discussion on ‘attitudes & the way we would react now.

This is a gentle slow story which intertwines the special relationship of Daisy, a rather dowdy distant cousin of Franklin Roosevelt with the president and how she comes to manage the realisation that he has other 'special relationships' too. This all happens very slowly, and could have been covered in about 20 minutes.The main event of the film is the visit to the USA of King George VI shortly before the outbreak of the second world war in the attempt to gain help for the upcoming war effort. The culture clash of the once mighty British Empire now rather supplicant to the new power of the United States is almost painful to watch at times, with Roosevelt, although broadly sympathetic, unable to resit a little fun at the royal family's expense - not least by introducing them to eating the least royal of delicacies - the hot dog.Pleasant enough viewing- historically interesting about the development of the Special Relationship- but slow, slow