HUGH BONNEVILLE: A SELECTIVE RETROSPECTIVE

The Gold

2023 Episode 1

BBC Drama series inspired by true events surrounding the 1983 Brink’s-Mat heist and its remarkable aftermath. ‘The Gold’ takes a pulsating journey into a 1980s world awash with cheap money and loosened morals. This is the real-life story of the gang who burgled a security deposit near Heathrow, stumbled upon £26 million worth of gold bars and inadvertently carried out the largest robbery in history. The crime had huge ramifications in London itself, not least on the Docklands development in the 1980s, and left controversy and murder in its wake.

UK 2023 NEIL FORSYTH 60M BBC

Hugh Bonneville writes: “This opening episode of the 6-part BBC series was directed by Oscar winner Aniel Karia, with cinematography by Stuart Bentley, film makers with a great eye for mood and period detail. On set I remember a couple of the younger members of the cast being mesmerised by the rotary dial telephones and Rolodexes, which made me feel very old. I think the soundtrack on this production lifts it to another level.”

Our thanks to the BBC and the BFI National TV Archive for this screening.

Iris 2001

This movie, based on the life of the revered British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch (Judi Dench), is a story of unlikely yet enduring love.

As a young academic teaching at Oxford, Murdoch (Kate Winslet) falls in love with fellow professor John Bayley (Hugh Bonneville), a man whose awkwardness seems in stark opposition to the spirited self-confidence of his future wife. The story unfolds as snippets of time, seen through the eyes of the older Bayley (Jim Broadbent). They portray Murdoch as a vibrant young woman with great intellect and are contrasted with the novelist’s later life, after the effects of Alzheimer’s disease have ravaged her. Murdoch’s great mind deteriorates unable to perform simple tasks and completely reliant on her devoted husband.

UK 2001 RICHARD EYRE 91M

Hugh Bonneville writes: “Written by Charles Wood and director Richard Eyre, this deeply affecting story charts the journey of Iris Murdoch into the fog of dementia as her husband John Bayley tries to come to terms with her decline. It was a privilege working opposite Kate Winslet – utterly natural and spontaneous in the role of young Iris, she taught me a lot about screen acting.”

Thu 17 Aug 16:15 – Studio

Wed 23 Aug 15:30 – Studio

Stage Beauty

2004

Based in the world of London’s theatres in the 1660s, Richard Eyre’s film is about the laws governing the employment of actresses on the stage.

Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is the assumedly gay cross-dressing actor who has been playing female parts in plays for years, particularly Desdemona in ‘Othello’. He also has a close relationship with a member of Charles II’s Court, the Duke of Buckingham. When an aspiring actress, Maria (Claire Danes), auditions for Kynaston’s praised role, Desdemona, the King (Rupert Everett) decrees that all female roles should be played only by women. Maria becomes a star, while Ned finds himself out of work. The amazing cast includes Richard Griffiths, Tom Wilkinson, Edward Fox, and Hugh Bonneville as Samuel Pepys.

UK 2004 RICHARD EYRE 106M

Hugh Bonneville writes: “My second film with director Richard Eyre. With echoes of ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ this is a romantic romp about the fickleness of theatre stardom, as women take to the stage for the first time after the Restoration. I remember a very warm day filming at Hatfield House: the corpulent Richard Griffiths in full costume, sweating in the heat of the long gallery, windows blacked out, candles lit, a portable air conditioning unit blowing at him on maximum power.”

Scenes Of A Sexual Nature

On a single afternoon in one of London’s most famous – and occasionally infamous –locations, the relationships of seven couples are examined with poignancy and wit. Hampstead Heath, where Andrew Lincoln’s wife catches him drooling over a nubile French student; Catherine Tate and Adrian Lester amble through the most amicable divorce ever; Ewan McGregor promises his partner Douglas Hodge that he’ll stop straying; Tom Hardy’s chancer tries his hand with the stressed Sophie Okonedo; Gina McKee and Hugh Bonneville struggle through a blind date picnic; and old timers Eileen Aitkins and Benjamin Whitrow find themselves wandering into the past. This entertaining, intelligent and beautifully wrought film is a veritable showcase of some of Britain’s finest actors.

UK 2006 ED BLUM 91M

Wed 16 Aug 18:45 – Studio

Thu 17 Aug 21:00 – Studio

Hugh Bonneville writes: “Featuring a then little-known Tom Hardy among its large cast, this is a kaleidoscope of duets about loves sought, won, missed and lost. I think each pair of actors filmed for one day. Talk about micro-budget – thank God it didn’t rain for my scene with Gina McKee as there was no plan B.“

Our thanks to Martin Myers for this screening.

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