VICEROY’S HOUSE (OUT NOW!) review thread - chance for non attendees to win goodies! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Ahead of the UK release of the acclaimed new film, Viceroy’s House, starring Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Gillian Anderson (The X Files, The Fall) OUT 3 March, around 25 lucky MNers were able to see a preview of the film.

Read on for their reviews.

If you didn't attend, there's a chance to win one of 3 copies of the books that the film is based upon, FREEDOM AT MIDNIGHT and DAUGHTER OF EMPIRE, along with signed posters - to be entered into a draw to win these, please state on this thread how you feel about the period of history that the film is based on.

Starring Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson as Lord and Lady Mountbatten, and set against an exotic Indian backdrop at the time of the Raj, the powerful new film VICEROY’S HOUSE tells the incredible true story of the final months of British rule in India. A celebration of the resilience of the human spirit, the film’s release will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the independence of India and the founding of Pakistan. The Viceroy’s House was the home of the British rulers of India. Charged with handing India back to its people, the Mountbattens lived upstairs, where the political elite wrangled over the birth of independent India. Downstairs, among the 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants, the social impact of this divide is reflected through the eyes of a pair of young lovers whose sweeping romance is forbidden.

IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE 3rd MARCH 2017

Watch the trailer below:

Find out more and book your seats here: www.viceroyshouse.co.uk @ViceroysHouse.

Attendees: all attendees who give feedback on the film will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will win a £100 voucher, so please give your film review below:

~ What are your general feelings about the film? What's your headline review? Please give your rating from 1 to 5 stars where 5 is brilliant and 1 is poor (plus do add your rating in the box below left )

~ Who you attended the screening with (friend/ mother/ husband etc)? What did they think of the film?

~ Did you know about this part of history? Did the film change your perception of this period?

~ What do you think it can teach us about the legacy of Empire and the policy of divide and rule in today’s political climate?

Thanks and good luck with the prize draws.

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

The only problem i had was the person who was obviously bored and was reading their mobile during the film.
Thank you mumsnet, though DH and i enjoyed it.

Non-attendee.

Disappointed to read from dewdneyk's review that the relationship between Edwina and Nehru wasn't really explored. I've read several biographies on the Mountbattens, and they were a fascinating couple (or non-couple, as the case may be).

Still, very much looking forward to seeing this movie. Hugh whasisname off BBC News interviewed the producer/director/writer Gurinder Chadha last night and she was very engaging.

I had a really nice evening with a friend to see this film. The film was both enjoyable and moving but I agree with a previous poster that the characters were some what cardboard cut out like, not very developed at all. The majority of the dialogue was too clunky - furthering the plot through explanation or very swift wars of expressing something about the nature of a character which didn't offer any depth. Alongside this Hugh Bonneville played Mountbatten exactly as he did lord grantham in downtown abbey. This all made it rather soap like despite the serious nature of the subject matter. The film still managed to be moving due to clever use of archive footage, especially towards the end. In fact the most moving bit of all related to the factual information prior to the end credits (won't say anymore as non viewers are reading the thread). However I think the subject matter deserves a better film, two (and half) stars from me.

Also was anyone else thinking were gandhi's teeth really that bad?

I'm really looking forward to this, it's a period in history I find absolutely fascinating. I loved Indian Summers and have just read Dinah Jeffries' The Tea Planter's Wife, set in Ceylon in this time, and would love to read the books that inspired this film.

The last (I think) episode of Who Do You Think You Are was with Sunetra Sarker - it had some interesting stuff about the partition period. Probably still on iPlayer.

Non-attendee here.

India has always fascinated me and I was lucky enough to go there for an extended holiday some years decades ago. I loved it and hope to go back again some day.

I know quite a lot about the 19thC 'Raj' period but am ashamed to say that my knowledge of independence and partition in India is extremely limited, even though I did see 'Gandhi' once upon a time. I know no more than the very bare bones. I intend to go to see this film to kick-start some in-depth reading around this unsettled time in India's history (and because I have a girl crush on Gillian Anderson).

It has taken me a bit of time to pull together my feelings about this film. I did enjoy it and I would waver somewhere between and I think.

First of all the sets, costumes and cinematography were great. It gave a real sense of place and really made me miss Delhi. I thought Gillian Anderson was great and loved her accent. The use of historical footage was excellent and it did bring a very dark and disturbing part of Indias history to life.

The problems with the film for me were really around Hugh Bonneville. Not because he didn't play his part well but more because I felt that the Mountbatten he was given to play was too sympathetic (partly because it's very hard to hate Hugh bonneville!!) and I think the British overall were painted in too positive a light. In a situation where no one really came off well I think it was a bit unfair to give such a figure a so much more positive portrayal than the Indian politicians.

The love story was sweet enough but did lack a little bit of substance. Maybe because all the falling in love had happened off stage. The ending was a little unrealistic although satisfying but I would have been interested to see what happened outside of Delhi a little more.

Overall though I felt that the film gave a good intro to this period of history and did make me want to read more about it. I do love a historical drama and I really enjoyed watching it.

I'm very keen to see this film: Partition is a period I know a good deal about, and I'm wondering how accurately the machinations will be portrayed.

In real-life, Mountbatten did not make a good fist of things- his predecessor was ousted for telling London the bloodshed would be immense if the process was rushed- and was further hindered by being neither particularly bright nor particularly imaginative. Hugh Bonneville, seedy past aside, seems almost a caricature in casting here.

The human cost was immense, and compounded by British impotence: much has been made of this film being shown also from an Indian perspective- so it will definitely be interesting to see how well that comes across.

Something other MNetters might not be aware of (is it shown in the film?) is that women from both India and East Pakistan went back across the border after Partition, to try to find women who'd been forcibly abducted during the process. The worked undercover to help identify these women, and then helped those who wanted to cross the border (with the assistance of army officers on both sides). I hope that with the 1947 archive project, more of their voices will be heard, and that more people will hear about their courage, resourcefulness and compassion.

Non attendee. I feel massively ashamed of the Empire. I think the men of Britain past are responsible for so many terrible parts of history. I love reading about India and would love to go. Looking forward to seeing the film when I can.

I haven't seen the movie yet and I am a non-reviewer. However, I am fascinated by the decolonisation movement. This period in history was a time of massive international change, with passionate self-determination and liberalisation movements, so I am very excited to see how the movie portrays this. Plus, it'll be interesting to see how Gandhi is portrayed!

Took two DC to see this film this evening. Ashamed to say I knew nothing about this event in history. Now feel a little more knowledgeable and it provoked discussion over dinner. :)

Non-attendee. I must admit I don't know anything about this period of history but having read this thread, it sounds fascinating. I love films and books which I can learn from, so would be very interested in reading this book and seeing the film. Thank you!

Non attendee. This period of history feels so long ago; it is a bit embarrassing to me as it seems so racist now.

I love India so much having visited 3 times but seeing the road signs in English and the fact that schools teach in English reminded me of our occupation of India which makes me feel very ashamed. However the Indian people I got to know told me they love us and thanks to us they were able to become a successful trading nation. I'm very glad Mahatma Ghandi successfully campaigned for independence.

I haven't seen this. Have they really made a film about Partition focussing on the Mountbattens as people without mentioning the tiny fact that she was having a long term affair with Nehru?! You'd have thought that it was a tiny bit relevant.

The mountbattens are not the focus of the film. It covers just the few months from when they arrive in India to just after partition. It does show an instant attraction between Edwina and Nehru but they are just part of the bigger picture.

Non attendee.
I am looking forward to watching this film, as I am a fan of the tv series Indian Summers, and I also remember Jewel in the Crown being a must-watch each week many years ago! I did read an article last week by a Muslim writer who was disappointed in the portrayal of Muslims in the film, so I will be interested to see the film in that light.

Good idea to begin with : a real period drama. India's independence from victorian Britain with all the strife and bitter conflict that brought forward the division among the natives. Dissapointing Hugh Bonneville as more Earl of Grantham rather than Lord Mountbatten. Tumbs up for Gillian Anderson for trying very hard.
I was really amaze at the comments around me on the style "who 's that ?" when it was Gandhi.
Interesting the presentation of the film director and her relation to the story.

An excellent and accurate review in the Guardian - Fatima Bhutto on Indian partition film Viceroy’s House: ‘I watched this servile pantomime and wept’

"The second world war... has exhausted the British and that is why they have 'announced' they will be leaving India. There is no mention of the freedom struggle, Gandhian civil disobedience and resistance that brought the empire to its knees without firing a shot. Nor of the persecution and imprisonment of India’s independence leaders, successful economic boycotts of the industrialised British behemoth or the savagery and theft of imperialism (at least three million Indians died in the Bengal famine, a man-made disaster). It is simply that the British were 'exhausted' – and that, too, by the Germans."

Thanks Mumsnet for giving me the opportunity to see this movie - what a great treat!

I have mixed feelings about the movie. On one count the movie did deliver the historical epic and beautiful shots - I agree with Bombaybunty, that visually it was a pleasure to watch. Although.... I felt like the whole thing was rather cartoon-like. Colours were vivid and shots were classic - which could also be translated as clichéd. In fact the love story took clichéd to a new level and I don't feel it was needed, or dare I say even appropriate, given the severity of the issue at hand.

I generally love Gillian Anderson and whilst I 'got' her character there was a bit too much of the same pained facial expression; slightly superior, yet considered and motherly, almost tender.

An informative movie and beautifully shot, but I can't help but feel it could have been a bit 'cleverer'. Enjoyed it all the same - thank you Mumsnet!

Haven't seen the film, but heard Gillian Anderson interviewed and she said if the film had gone into the affair between Edwina and Nehru, they would not have been allowed to film in India.

I would like to see it, reviews have been generally good.

non-attendee - I don't know much about this time period but despite wrongness of inequality etc, there is something charming and nostalgic about the architecture, and design elements of that time.

I went to see this film (nothing to do with Mumsnet) because my husband fancied seeing it. I absolutely loved it. It was beautifully filmed and very interesting. I learned a lot about that period of history that I had been totally unaware of. Gillian Anderson was particularly superb in her role. The film made me laugh and cry, and was very thought provoking.

Top marks from me.

Being Indian and told stories about this particular era by my Grandma, I loved the film and thought it portrayed the real India for once as many foreign films fail to do so. The film was visually stunning and I had tears at the end of the film too.