Wah-Wah (DVD)

At the tender age of 11, Ralph Compton is subjected to witnessing his mother, Lauren, and her lover having sex. If this isn't bad enough, she later decides that she has had enough of being wife to a British diplomat in Swaziland and leaves her husband to seek new horizons with her lover, leaving Ralph with his father. Mr Compton's drinking gets out of hand, leaving Ralph with little choice but to go away to school. When he returns, he is shocked ...
...American woman called Ruby that he has only just met. Ruby and Ralph quickly become very close, just as Ruby and her husband start to drift apart. Will Ruby stay with the family? Or is Ralph destined to have to deal with his father's drinking alone?

Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, Skins) plays Ralph, and shows that he is very much more than just a one-trick pony. Ralph is a complicated character, and has to run the entire gamut of emotions ... more

At the tender age of 11, Ralph Compton is subjected to witnessing his mother, Lauren, and her lover having sex. If this isn't bad enough, she later decides that she has had enough of being wife to a British diplomat in Swaziland and leaves her husband to seek new horizons with her lover, leaving Ralph with his father. Mr Compton's drinking gets out of hand, leaving Ralph with little choice but to go away to school. When he returns, he is shocked to find that his father has married again, to an American woman called Ruby that he has only just met. Ruby and Ralph quickly become very close, just as Ruby and her husband start to drift apart. Will Ruby stay with the family? Or is Ralph destined to have to deal with his father's drinking alone?

Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, Skins) plays Ralph, and shows that he is very much more than just a one-trick pony. Ralph is a complicated character, and has to run the entire gamut of emotions during the course of the film - fear, anger, distress, joy, love - yet manages to do so convincingly and naturally. Most importantly, he really managed to communicate with me, despite the fact that I am a late thirties female, so that I really wanted things to work out for him. This, more than anything else, kept me glued to the screen for the vast majority of the film. Gabriel Byrne, who plays Ralph's father, also gave an excellent performance as a man with two sides - the highly respected public one, and the addictive, violent private one. Gabriel Byrne is one of those actors that is immediately familiar, but I can never remember what he's been in - I think this will change after having seen this film.

I loved Emily Watson as the brash American, Ruby. She really brings some humour to the proceedings, particularly when she comes up against the snobby Brits, such as Lady Hardwicke (Celia Imrie). The name of the film comes about because Ruby thinks Wah Wah sounds like the posh British accent. Ruby's relationship with Ralph was a pleasure to watch - I wasn't sure whether it was going to turn into an affair, but Ruby stays on the right side of the moral line, whilst still able to show her true feelings. A really good performance. Miranda Richardson plays Lauren, Ralph's mother and does a more than adequate, if not outstanding, job. She makes herself thoroughly dislikeable, which is the aim of the character, and leaves rather a nasty taste in the mouth. Julie Walters is also good as the woman who lost her husband to Lauren. She has great fun with the role, particularly as she has a penchant for alcohol - she isn't quite as wacky as in Mamma Mia, but it's not far off!

Wah Wah is supposed to be the semi-autobiographical story of Richard E Grant, who spent some considerable time in directing the film. I found myself intrigued by this - it really added a human touch. And the film is incredibly well-made. The setting is Swaziland in the late sixties, just before the British handed it back, and there are some wonderful shots of the countryside. Films of what appear to be the original hand-over are spliced into the film, which makes it all the more convincing. Best of all though was the humorous, but senstive, look at the British abroad - their drunkeness, snobbishness, and their incredibly imperialist views. Having worked in an Embassy abroad, I found myself smiling because I recognised quite a lot of the behaviour. It is perhaps this that prevented its success in the US - it did have a limited release, but I can imagine that it wouldn't have appealed all that much to a non-British audience.

This is not an action film - it is the story of a boy growing up, and as such, does have its boring moments. Part of the film revolves around a performance of the musical, Camelot, that many of the characters are involved in, and that they are planning to perform in front of the Queen. However, I found it a bit dull, and it didn't really seem to fit in with the rest of the film. I'd certainly have been a lot happier if it had been edited out. And there is a feeling during the course of the film that something is going to happen - it eventually does - but the run-up is a little bit too long and boring. However, these are fairly minor problems in what is overall a good film.

I didn't really know what to expect from this film - I read a brief synopsis of what it was about, but it was really Nicholas Hoult and Emily Watson that encouraged me to watch it. And I think it was worth it. However, it is not going to appeal to everyone. I'm not sure, for example, how much it would appeal to teenagers, for all it is about growing up and rites of passage - I think it is a little too unexciting for that age group. On the whole though, I think this is a really well-made film in which anyone who likes a thoughtful story will find something to enjoy. Recommended.

The DVD is available from play.com for £5.

Classification: 15

Running time: 120 minutes 

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