Wah Wah

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

The beauty of Wah-Wah - actor Richard E. Grant's first go at writing/directing is based on the story of his boyhood in Swaziland, Africa - is that the movie manages to honor everything it touches: family love, first love, estrangement, coming of age, death, theatre, puppetry, "Camelot," the British Royal Family, and most surprisingly of all, Africa itself. Grant (Withnail and I; How to Get Ahead in Advertising) accomplishes his task by simply being truthful, letting events speak for themselves instead of underscoring or politicizing them. He's assembled a crack cast, every one of whom nails the character that s/he is playing and has fun with it, to boot. This is not a deep film, skimming surfaces like a stone skipping the water, but that is also its strength. There is plenty of skill here - in the acting, directing, writing, editing, photography, sets and costume design - so that a fast pace, succinct build-up of events and characterization, and a lightness of touch carry us effortlessly over well-tread territory. The difference in Wah-Wah is the setting: the African of Grant's boyhood remains beautiful amidst a coming political transition that appears more peaceful and measured than many during the past century.

Most interesting of all, the family shown here and the society that surrounds it - nearly forty years back - seems surprisingly close to the "extended" families that many of us experience today. That this group manages, finally, to work itself out is due to in no small part to the character of Ruby (a smart and appealing performance from Emily Watson) whose very American, no-nonsense integrity helps the colonial Brits adjust to the coming changes in their community, in Africa and in western society in general. Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson and Julie Walters handle their roles with the kind of precision and buried feeling we've come to expect, while Celia Imrie (as the colony's first lady and resident snob), the sweetly horsy Fenella Woolgar (Bright Young Things) and Julian Wadham offer sublime support. Surely among the most underrated of the past year, Wah-Wah ought to have been on movie lovers' must-see list, and I am surprised at the lack of support given it by our cultural heralds. I suspect its handling is actually too subtle for many of our critics, who - given what they've been served over the years regarding Africa, adultery, family, etc. - now expect a certain formula that this movie, thankfully, refuses to deliver. Don’t miss it.