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Joe's Palace (BBC)


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Beautiful and dreamy
Review date: 2008-01-10 Rating: 10 out of 10

I thought this was beautiful to look at and listen to. The same sort of background music is used in 'Perfect strangers' and 'Shooting the Past'. The characters tend to talk in the same precise way as in all the Poliakoff
productions, that I have seen anyway. That is something I have also noticed with adaptions of John Le Carre's works. Is that useful ? maybe not.

I thought Danny Lee Wynter was fascinating as Joe, a likable sort of innocent, though not so innocent as he may seem. Not as slow either. I also liked Rebecca Hall, who brought a witty touch to it. Rupert Penry-Jones and Kelly Reilly provide the eye candy, and are also very good.

Needless to say, Michael Gambon was superb.

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Reviews


A lonely house and lonely people - superbly put on the screen -
Review date: 2007-11-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

Poliakoff's movies are always worthwhile seeing and this movie is no exception. It is a quite film which supports in an excellent way the main theme - at lest in my view - loneliness. There is a billionaire who owns one of the most beautiful houses in London but let is stand empty living opposite it, searching the origin of his fortune. He seems to have all but nothing. A boy lonely as he is not the brightest gets a job as guard in this house and seems to find some fulfilment for a time being; becoming the person connecting billionaire, a couple using the house for their love affaire and finding the search assistant for the billionaire. The couple itself is lonely - both in marriages which do not seem to fulfil them but to scared to leave.

It is sometimes difficult to understand and it seems to be a bit senseless but this is the essence of it. I enjoyed the acting and the quietness of it. Impressive indeed!! The only thing I did not like was the end when the billionaire found out how his father has made his money. The Nazi theme was a bit forced and did not really fit in the story.
But all in all a very good movie, but properly not appealing to mass tastes.


Conscious subtly and inconsistancies are redeemed by the excellent performances in 'Joe's Palace'
Review date: 2007-11-05 Rating: 8 out of 10

My only previous introduction to Steven Poliakoff's work was `Gideon's Daughter', a film that managed to blend entertainment and emotional depth in a way that held my attention when its premise might otherwise have passed me by. I think what ultimately made it successful was Bill Nighy's performance with its measured subtly full of depth, yet never over the top. Like `Gideon's Daughter' `Joe's Palace' is a subtle, intelligent and heart breaking piece of drama, with an excellent cast headed by the truly magnificent Michael Gambon. His performance here harkens back to his amazing turn in `The Singing Detective', as he plays Eliot an ageing millionaire agonising over where his inherited fortune came from. As a result of his existential crisis Eliot is unable to enjoy his fortune and properties so he entrusts his `Palace' into the care of Joe (Danny Lee Wynter), the housekeeper's son. Largely left to his own devices Joe has free reign of the palace, until charismatic politician Richard (Rupert Penry- Jones) makes use of its discreet surroundings to engage in an affair with a married woman called Charlotte (Kelly Reilly). In turn Joe is unwittingly drawn into the adult affairs of Eliot, Richard and Charlotte, and he begins to elaborate on the strange goings on of the `palace' in his journal. While `Joe's Palace' is far from perfect- there are loose ends that are never really tied up, inconsistencies and subtly appears to be favoured over clarification- it is a drama with enough emotional resonance and excellent performances to redeem itself. It is also beautifully shot, perhaps acting as a contrast to the loneliness of the main characters. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Eliot and Joe watch old fashioned moving pictures in his private cinema. The scene is shot from behind the actors, creating a panoramic illusion of the two men sitting atop a bus as it moves through the city. In this scene Eliot explains that he has to look to the past in order for him to move forward and accept his wealth. As the film moves nearer to the denouement where he discovers the truth about his father's fortune, the impact it has on Eliot is delivered powerfully by Gambon and exposes the brutal corruption behind his inherited wealth. `Joe's Palace' is an excellent character study of the human psyche, loneliness, and betrayal. I thought this film was almost good enough for the silver screen, but thankfully it debuted on BBC 1, where hopefully it was watched by a much wider audience than it might have had at the cinema. And to think I nearly watched `A Room with A View' on ITV instead!






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Review date: 2007-11-05 Rating: 8 out of 10

Like virtually all of Poliakoff's films, Joe's Palace deals principally with the themes of obsession and loneliness and does so in a very unique tone and style.
This differs from his earlier work in that it is slightly dreamier, slightly more surreal and bears most resembelence to the first of his previous duo of films; Friends and Crocodiles. For me, the cerebal atmosphere it evokes is the filmic version of Sigur Ros (luckily, their cinematic potential is being explored through Heima, their highly unusual concert films, so Joe's Palace/Friends and Crocs fans take note).

It is shown mainly from the perspective of Joe, a guy who's just left school with seemingly no aims and no preconceptions of the outer world, who is offered the job of caretaking the London mansion of a reclusive and eccentric billionaire who bizarrely lives in a smaller house opposite. The action unfolds from there at a fairly meandering pace, but this is more than counter-balanced by the engaging cast and direction, and, as is the case throughout Poliakoff's back catalogue, the gradual progression of an already unusual and engrossing premise into something quite moving and, in this case, haunting.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Kelly Reilly
Michael Gambon
Rupert Penry-Jones
Danny Lee Wynter
Rebecca Hall

Creators:
Danny Lee Wynter (Primary Contributor)
Michael Gambon (Primary Contributor)
Stephen Poliakoff (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503251925
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-11-05
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 146 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2007
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Original Language)

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