A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” (2023).
Winner of the most spoilerific trailer of 2023 so far, “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” appears to be a big hit with the ‘silver haired brigade’ at the cinema. In the most recent UK box office figures it came in a respectable third, with takings of £785K. Certainly I was surprised at going into my afternoon showing: typically I get into the auditorium and see two other people. In contrast, my screening was at least two thirds full!
And it deserves to do well. It is a pleasing and ‘nice’ British film.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Harold Fry (Jim Broadbent) lives a boring retired life in South Devon being hen-pecked by his cold and distant wife Maureen (Penelope Wilton). But when he receives a letter from an old colleague, Queenie Hennessy (Linda Bassett), dying of cancer in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed he gets the madcap idea of walking all the way there to save her.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: NR. (From the BBFC: “Infrequent strong language, drug misuse, suicide, moderate sex references”).
Talent:
Starring: Jim Broadbent, Penelope Wilton, Earl Cave, Linda Bassett, Daniel Frogson, Nina Singh.
Directed by: Hettie Macdonald.
Written by: Rachel Joyce (Based on her book of the same name).
Twitter Handle: #HaroldFryFilm.
Harold and his gaggle of disciples including Naomi Wirthner as Kate and Paul Thornley as Rich. (Source: E-One)
“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” Review:
Positives:
- Given the subject matter (late-stage hospice care for cancer) this is a surprisingly uplifting film. It wonderfully reflects the quirky nature of the British people. Sometimes this is just through snippets of conversation that happen while Harold is walking past their houses. One guy, in his pyjamas, asks Harold “Have you seen any hedgehogs?”. Wonderfully random! It reflects what we all know: that most British people are fundamentally nice and want to help. In fact, other than Maureen, there is only one other person who comes across as being ‘negative’ in the whole film (a cafe owner in the final reel).
- This is an acting tour-de-force from two of Britains titans of acting. Jim Broadbent is as reliable as ever, and arguably here gives his best dramatic performance in years: certainly my favourite performance since “The Duke” in 2020. Surely a BAFTA nomination must be on the cards here? And NOBODY does a cold and aloof woman better than Penelope Wilton. (Well, maybe Dame Judi could give her a run for her money, settled only through a mud-wrestling bout!) The relationship between the pair reminded me of some couples we see while breakfasting in hotels. My wife and I are either a) iPad deep in the morning copy of ‘The Times’, occasionally commenting on articles; or b) chattering nine-to-the-dozen about what we did yesterday or what the plans are for today. But I’ll often look across at other older breakfasting couples, munching toast silently without a word to say to each other. How sad! And this is exactly what Harold and Maureen are like. Living, silently, in a surgically clean house, since hoovering and polishing is all that Maureen has to do with her life.
- I also really liked Nina Singh’s naturalistic performance as the garage-girl who starts the whole thing off. (Given it is such a key role, I’m not sure why she is buried right at the bottom of the IMDB cast list!)
- The film has a bit of grit in it, in regards to a sub-plot about Harold and Maureen’s wayward son David (Earl Cave). This at least is something that the trailer didn’t manage to spoil!
- The glorious English countryside is on show as Harold walks its length. In this video, the actors and writer talk about some of the wonderful National Trust locations that they were able to film on.
- There is a nice folksy-based soundtrack by Ilan Eshkeri with songs by Sam Lee.
Negatives:
- Some of the encounters (e.g. with a farmer’s wife) seem a bit twee and contrived.
Triggers?
Note that there are elements in the story relating to depression and suicide that might be triggering for some viewers.
Summary Thoughts on “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”
This is a ‘nice’ and charming little film that tells a story well. And as a lessen in acting, you really can’t do better than examining the work here of Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton.
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Trailer for “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”
The original trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXMvgdgpZ10 .
BUT I was SOOOOO infuriated by the spoilers in that official version, that I re-edited a more spoiler-free version to include here. That edited version is here – https://youtu.be/4Jiu7qNUWDc and below:
