The first film I watched after receiving the course materials was Eddie the Eagle (2016), directed by Dexter Fletcher.
I’m a regular listener of Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review—or as fellow listeners know it, “The Church of Wittertainment.” This film had received a lot of positive attention, both from Mark Kermode’s review and from listener correspondence. On that basis, I made the effort to track it down—a task that wasn’t particularly easy here in Hong Kong.
The film’s generally positive reception from critics and the movie-going public, combined with my own nostalgia for an event I remember well, were my main motivations for choosing this film. I was also intrigued by the casting. As a relatively small British production, it featured the usual array of British character actors in supporting roles—Jim Broadbent and Keith Allen among them. However, what stood out was the unusual inclusion of Hollywood star Hugh Jackman and a cameo from Christopher Walken.
Eddie the Eagle is the second film I’ve seen starring Taron Egerton—the first being Kingsman. His performance here is very different. While both characters lack confidence, it’s expressed in completely distinct ways. As I mentioned in my review—and as Mark Kermode and others have also noted—Egerton’s portrayal teeters just on the wrong side of impersonation at times.
I’m familiar with Dexter Fletcher mainly for his role as Spike in Press Gang (a reference almost legally required for people of my generation). Eddie the Eagle is the first film I can remember seeing that was directed by him, and I was impressed with how he handled the material.
The story is told with pace, sympathy, and humour. As with most biopics, it’s not 100% historically accurate—for dramatic effect, liberties are taken, especially with Hugh Jackman’s character, who is a composite of several real-life figures.
Overall, Fletcher’s mise-en-scène is warm and engaging. It evoked a nostalgic glow of the 1980s for me, while hopefully offering a sense of realism for younger or non-British viewers.
The film left me wanting to explore more of Dexter Fletcher’s work as a director. I was pleased to see that Sunshine on Leith is included later in the course—something I’m now looking forward to even more.
(Originaly Published June 2016)
