Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) Directed by Roger Michell. Starring: Bill Murray, Laura Linney and Olivia Williams. IMDB says: “The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.”
Bill Murray gives a spectacular performance as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At first he comes off as a caricature of the President, but then embodies and becomes the character as the film progresses. It’s a performance I hope gets attention come awards season. As for the rest of the film, it just felt… off. The film didn’t know if it was a drama or romantic comedy or a comedy or just a romance film. It bounced around even changing some character arcs at inopportune times. For example, the main character Daisy (Laura Linney) also plays the narrator. We hear her voiceover throughout the film over scenes explaining the past or something that was going to happen. What we never see are Scrubs like moments where she blurts out something angrily, then the camera cuts back to the actual moment and her narration goes, “…is what I wanted to say.” So when something like that happens towards the end of the film, completely out of place and throwing the films feel and pace off, one has to stop and wonder why? Why add that in there? There was no place for it; It’s unnecessary. There are a few more little moments that shift and change characters, but it’s never enough to affect the plot. It’s just enough for you to feel disengaged with a character you felt like you knew.
The story is about a love affair between FDR and his cousin Daisy during a weekend visit from the King and Queen of England. How much of the film is historically accurate versus artistic liberty? Not sure. It all feels pretty accurate and no setting or prop looks out of place. I can tell you one thing though, I had no idea how much fooling around FDR was doing. That revelation led to a lot of surprising moments in the film (and I’m not just talking about the handjob scenes either)
Despite it’s flaws, Hyde Park on the Hudson is an enjoyable film. It’s a side of FDR I’ve never seen before and a depiction I was not expecting. If it’s in theatres near you check it out, if not, definitely check it out when it’s available on Netflix or VOD.
FTS SCORE: 74%