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The Winslow Boy

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United Kingdom, United States · 1999
Rated G · 1h 44m
Director David Mamet
Starring Rebecca Pidgeon, Gemma Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Sarah Flind
Genre Drama

In early 20th century England, Arthur Winslow learns the royal naval academy expelled his 14-year-old son, Ronnie, for stealing five shillings. Winslow asks his son if it is true, and when the boy denies it, Arthur risks fortune, health, and domestic peace, to pursue justice.

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80

The New York Times by Elvis Mitchell

Mamet's handsome, stately adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy does not embellish upon its source material. Instead it skillfully pares the play down to its essentials, arriving at a faithful but tighter version of this drama.

75

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Mamet illustrates that he can work as capably from someone else's script as he can from his own, and that his talent as a director is not eclipsed by his ability as a writer.

80

L.A. Weekly by John Patterson

What's left is "Masterpiece Theatre," a very clean, straightforward adaptation of a beautifully constructed play, faithful to a dead man's classical virtues -- harmony, proportion, balance -- if not to the director's own, more iconoclastic ones.

75

USA Today by Mike Clark

In the movie's high point, (Jeremy) Northam conducts an antagonistic interview with the boy, who eludes well-placed lawyerly traps.

88

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen

The result is a rare treat, a revival of a period piece that doesn't descend into mere quaintness or prettiness, and that manages to capture the spirit of an earlier time without sacrificing the perspective of our own.

88

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Sixty seconds of wondering if someone is about to kiss you is more entertaining than 60 minutes of kissing. By understanding that, Mamet is able to deliver a G-rated film that is largely about adult sexuality.

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