On the lengthy list of American presidents immortalised on film, Franklin Delano Roosevelt ranks among the more common candidates, conceding popularity only to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Yet unlike his fellow leaders, few films have cast the 32nd US head of state as the protagonist in their narratives, an absence arrested by Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson.
Named for Roosevelt’s country estate in upstate New York, the feature explores an otherwise untold chapter in his life, complete with sentimentality for its setting and subject. Journals written by Margaret ‘Daisy’ Suckley – the president’s sixth cousin – inform the drama, relating the fragility of diplomatic links with the United Kingdom as World War II threatened Europe, as well as revealing a relationship undiscovered until long after all involved had passed away.
Roosevelt (Bill Murray, Moonrise Kingdom) preferred to govern away from the scrutiny of the White House, regularly frequenting his home town. His mother (Elizabeth Wilson, Quiz Show) summons Daisy (Laura Linney, TV’s The Big C) to keep him company, and their companionship blossoms. Alongside his wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams, Anna Karenina) and secretary Marguerite (Elizabeth Marvel, The Bourne Legacy), she becomes indispensable; however the president’s personal affairs prove precarious when King George VI (Samuel West, Eternal Law) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman, I Give It a Year) visit to solidify the ties between both nations.
The fortunes of political biographies are inextricably linked to the strengths of their leads, as recent releases The Iron Lady and Lincoln have shown. Alas, Hyde Park on Hudson lacks such scintillating performances as given by Streep and Day-Lewis respectively. Murray’s versatility away from comedic roles is not in question, nor is the humanism he brings to the character. Yet, his casual nature fails to engage, resulting in an effort as middling as the film he stars in.
Amidst lavish production design that proves the highlight of the feature, director Michell (Morning Glory) and writer Richard Nelson (Ethan Frome) fare about as well as their leading man, neither failing at their tasks nor impressing above an average standard. In story and execution, the film remains ordinary; it never reaches beyond the obvious. Even the talented Linney, usually an asset on screen, is wasted. Trivial despite its tender tendencies, Hyde Park on Hudson has the air of good intentions, but also the aimlessness of insignificant outcomes.
Rating: 2 ½ stars out of 5
Hyde Park on Hudson
Director: Roger Michell
UK, 2012, 94 min
In cinemas March 28
Distributor: Icon
Rated M
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