An English Classic, The Winslow Boy (originally a play) is a film which examines how far you should pursue a point of principle. It is based on the real case of a young boy expelled from Naval College for a petty theft he didn’t commit. The 1999 film, adapted and directed by David Mamet brilliantly dramatises this David and Goliath struggle.
There are so many reasons to watch…For me, it’s the verbal sparring between Sir Robert Morton, the family’s lawyer played by Jeremy Northam and the accused sister – a suffragette. Initially antagonistic toward each other, their dialogue is reminiscent of a Hepburn / Tracy love affair of equals.
And rare it is that such a romance is allowed to be amplified by understatement.
I can’t resist providing a link here to the final scene, their ‘final’ meeting – one of my favourite moments in cinema. But I encourage you not to watch it – watch the whole of this wonderful film instead.
