Bored aristocrats hire landscaper Mineer Chrome (Ewan McGregor) to remodel the back acres of Thomas Smithers (Pete Postlethwaite) and his wife Juliana's (Greta Scacchi) estate. But not everything is what it seems, for Mineer is not who he says he is and the business is not just business, the whole event plays from an angle. Along the way, Chrome forgets his place as he is enchanted by his patrons' enchanting daughter.
This film is an interesting study in character. Ewan McGregor's Mineer Chrome is constructed as a bit of a dreamer and a pure artist, but a compassionate soul who cares for everyone, especially Smithers' daughter, Thea (Carmen Chaplin.) It is for her that he upsets the scheme and throws down the whole house of cards, and he teases everyone just for her. Mineer's con-man handler Fitzmaurice (Richard E Grant) is a perfect weasel, performed brilliantly by Grant. He is human in every way, choosing the darker side of the human soul, full of malice and jealousy willing to harm anyone in the way of his mark. I am rather fond of Smithers' daughter, Thea. She's brimming with wit, feeling and wisdom and a certain wicked sense of humor. She's performed with poise and silence pristinely and gracefully.
As far as the writing goes, I'm not sure what the story is really saying. Usually I'm very keen on this, however, this one is elusive. The story has got everything it needs: credible characters, story arch, genre, and structure (a beginning, middle and an end.) But I'm not entirely sure exactly what's going on. In fact I watched it with a friend and she was clueless, too. But there is some attraction to me, perhaps because it is elusive and highly artistic. I also enjoy the overbearing sadness throughout the story, as destruction is rampant. As to the ending, we're left with vindication and hope, a comic ending in the classic sense of the phrase.
An acquired taste, true; but thought-provoking, if attention is maintained and the soul is engaged.
****
IN: Ewan McGregor
OUT: Pete Postlewaite
Coming Soon: Aeon Flux
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