TO OLIVIA | FILM REVIEW
Dir: John Hay (PG, 99 mins)
Roald Dahl’s rather tempestuous marriage with actress Patricia Neal comes under the spotlight here, along with the tragedy they endured just as Dahl was creating the book that would bring him fame and fortune, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. Living a fairly idyllic life in the English countryside, Neal (played by Keeley Hawes) has taken a back seat with her Hollywood career, as Dahl (Hugh Bonneville) plugs away at his new children’s book. A heavy drinker, Dahl is prone to fits of jealousy over Neal, but their relationship is thrown into utter disarray when their eldest daughter Olivia dies of encephalitis. Dahl is plunged into furious grief as Neal tries to restart her career as well as care for their other two children.
Although well-intentioned, the film is plodding in its execution, wallowing in marital slumps as Hawes and Bonneville try to make the most of what they have been given. There are flashes of what could have been, as Dahl talks to his creations in his writing shed, but the drama remains rooted in domesticity, when flights of fancy could have really lifted the story. The loss of a child is grimly played out: emotions are wrung, as two parents struggle with grief in their own ways.
Dodgy, unconvincing trips to Hollywood are a further stumbling block: there are some toecurling scenes as Hawes finds a way to play her character for an audition with Paul Newman – a miscast Sam Heughans – amidst some unconvincing CGI backdrops. To Olivia has a Sunday night television feel about it, and while less engaging than it could have been, Hawes and Bonneville bring some emotion to the proceedings.
Released on Fri 19 Feb on Sky Cinema. Info: here
words KEIRON SELF