A chapter of English history, show business division, comes to light in “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” a curious new British production. This film presents a somewhat fictionalized version of the history of the Windmill Theater, a celebrated Soho establishment.
In the film’s telling of the story, Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) inherits a great deal of money when her husband “inconveniently” dies in the 1930s. Bored, she decides to buy a rundown cinema and turn it into a live venue.
Auditioning theater managers to run the place, she is intrigued by Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins), an old pro in the biz. They agree on very little, a quality that will remain constant throughout their long working partnership together.
After initial success with nonstop song-and-dance shows, the Windmill needs a boost. Mrs. Henderson and Mr. Van Damm opt for the most surefire money-maker in the world – bare-naked ladies – and install a nudie section in the show.
“Mrs. Henderson Presents” is episodic, with a climactic section set in London during the Blitz (the theater kept running throughout the German bombings). The best section is probably the implementing of the nude shows, which provides good comic material.
Christopher Guest plays an English Lord in charge of public censorship. In negotiations with Van Damm and Mrs. Henderson, he decides that nudity might be allowable (even, you know, artistic) if the women on stage never move. Guest is wonderful in the role – and by the way, despite being an American comedian, Guest is a real British Lord, having inherited a title from his father.
Dench and Hoskins are both fine in roles that are smoothly tailored for them. Martin Sherman’s script at times is witty, but the meandering quality of it makes you wonder sometimes just what the movie is precisely about.
The material is something different for director Stephen Frears, whose recent work includes “Dirty Pretty Things” and “High Fidelity.” One of his country’s greatest and most unpredictable directors, Frears came to the area recently to talk about his new film.
Pacing about his hotel room in bare feet and rumpled hair, Frears is the definition of the scruffy English eccentric. Almost immediately, he confides that he really can’t explain much about the movie, which should stand on its own. I find this refreshing, since I have always thought there is something absurd about interviewing filmmakers – shouldn’t the movie speak for itself? If something needs explaining, maybe there’s a problem.
Frears was asked by Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins to direct “Mrs. Henderson Presents.” At first he didn’t get the story, and admits, “I wasn’t very interested in making a war film, so I had to find some original way of doing it. There is such a sentimental myth in England about the Blitz. So you’re trying to avoid the sentimentality.
“I have a need to be fresh that seems quite deep. I don’t search for it (offbeat material), but it doesn’t surprise me when it comes my way.” He said that the English nature of “Mrs. Henderson,” combined with a style that felt like classic American screwball comedy, was the fresh part of the project. “The miracle is there are still things that give me that feeling at my age,” he said.
Of actually making a film, he said, “It’s always pretty straightforward. It’s a combination of instinct and experience. You only learn to make films by making films – it’s very humiliating. You make mistakes, and bring that to bear on every new film you make.”
| Nudie show: An account of the Windmill Theater, a revue house that added nudity to its format in the 1930s and kept open throughout the wartime Blitz. Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins are fun in familiar roles, although Stephen Frears’ film is a little vague about its purpose.
Rated: R rating is for nudity, subject matter Now showing: Guild 45th |
On working with actors: “I’ve never found there’s a lot to talk about – it’s a very English approach. You just sort of get on with it. When I met Anjelica Huston (for “The Grifters”), she said ‘I hope you’re not going to discuss much about motivation.’”
That’s not the Frears approach. “Something happens in your imagination,” he said, “and you create a complete world and involve all these elements. … I wouldn’t know where to start making a film about my own life, but all the films are autobiographical. But it’s the autobiography of the unconscious.”
Frears says his next project, about Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair, “could be my best film.” Like the rest, it sounds like he’s simply getting on with it.
Bob Hoskins and Judi Dench star in “Mrs. Henderson Presents.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
