When I set out on a quest to provide you with a guide to the British films coming out this spring, I quickly became sidetracked by the issue of how to qualify a film as "British." Is it the place where a film is set or the accents the characters use? Is it the nationality of the director or the producer or the animators?
It’s a really hard question to answer because of the breadth of Hollywood and the globalization of the movie business (along with everything else in the world). Just look at the films I’ve chosen: The Pirates! was animated by same studio that did Wallace and Gromit in partnership with the American Sony Pictures Animation, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was produced by two American studios and a media company in Abu Dhabi. I’m having trouble discerning the origins of Hysteria but the Toronto Film Festival tells me that it’s from USA/United Kingdom/Luxembourg/France. And Brave is technically an American film even though it has British talent and is set in Scotland.
Unless a film is produced by BBC Films, I find it hard to point to a movie and call it “British.” That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.
These four movies are due out in American theaters within the next three months. Although their credentials as British productions may be vague, I would personally attempt to label them as “British” because of the stories they tell about a nation and the culture they represent. Any film majors may feel free to tell me otherwise, but whether they are technically "British" or not, I’m excited about them.
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Release Date: Apr. 27
Key Actors: Hugh Grant, Jeremy Piven, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Martin Freeman, Lenny Henry, Ashley Jensen, Russell Tovey, Salma Hayek
If you love Wallace and Gromit, you’ll love this new claymation movie. The Pirate Captain may be enthusiastic at his job, but he’s not very successful when it comes to terrorizing the High Seas. In his quest to achieve his long-held dream of winning the Pirate Of The Year Award, he and his rag-tag crew travel from the exotic Blood Island to the streets of Victorian London, encountering a nasty Queen Victoria and a young scientist called Charles Darwin.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Release Date: May 4
Key Actors: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton
As a friend first described to me in March, this is a movie with all the old British actors. The story, based on a book by Deborah Moggach (who wrote the screenplay for Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice), follows seven retirees who move to India to live in the less expensive and seemingly luxurious Marigold Hotel. When they get there, they find that the accommodations are not what they expected, but are still able to create and share experiences in the vibrant city that allow them to heal and reinvent themselves.
Hysteria
Release Date: May 18
Key Actors: Felicity Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Rupert Everett, Ashley Jensen, Gemma Jones
When Doctor Mortimer Granville is hired by Victorian London’s leading specialist in women’s medicine to give relief to patients with female hysteria, he finds that the “pelvic massage” treatment is very time-consuming and doesn’t serve his patients properly. So what does he do? He invents the vibrator.
Brave
Release Date: Jun. 22
Key Actors: Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane
In a new story of ancient times, the impetuous Princess Merida defies an ancient custom, and her actions unleash chaos and fury into the Scottish Highlands. In order to set things right and undo the curse that’s been put on her, she must confront tradition, destiny and a really big black bear. And probably some other scary stuff. In addition to actually showcasing Scottish talent for a movie set in Scotland (something that doesn’t happen all that frequently), this will be Pixar’s first film where the lead character is female. Girl power!