Dame Judi Dench takes the lead as Laura Henderson a widow who buys an old London theatre and reopens it as the Windmill, which becomes an instant success with its all hours performances. However with success comes copycats and so to set the Windmill apart from the others a more risqué approach is conceived. Laura hires Vivian Van Damn (Bob Hoskins) an artistic director, who in turn hires Bertie (Will Young) and a troupe of dancers to headline the vaudeville performances.
Henderson and Van Damn don't really seem to get along, however their on screen chemistry is excellent and makes for some very funny scenes. In order to out-do rival theatres Henderson suggests the shedding of clothes; nude performances! The only problem is the city's censor, the prude Lord Chancellor (Christopher Guest) who won't stand for such obscenity, or will he?.
The film is set in World War II and shows the real gusto of the young men and women who kept up the morale across London as Hitler's bombs fell. The story opens at the funeral of Laura Henderson's late husband, sparking the necessity for a new "hobby" thus the buying of a derelict playhouse.
Dench is sure to gain another Oscar nomination for her lively performance in this energetic but nostalgic film. The dialogue is fruity, including hysterical, dining room conversation about female genitalia, resulting in one embarrassed diner to bluster; "you refer to it as... The Midlands".
Strong performances from all, including Will Young in his acting debut, make this film a classy bit of entertainment very much recommended by Feemale.
|
