A look at Welsh poet Dylan Thomas's fatal visit to New York City, and his stormy relationship with his wife Caitlin.A look at Welsh poet Dylan Thomas's fatal visit to New York City, and his stormy relationship with his wife Caitlin.A look at Welsh poet Dylan Thomas's fatal visit to New York City, and his stormy relationship with his wife Caitlin.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 4 nominations total
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Featured review
Typical BBC Dramatization of the Last Days of a Great Poet
Dylan Thomas gets the full BBC costume drama treatment in Andrew Davies' screenplay and Aisling Walsh's production. Historical accuracy is paramount; the costumes are well-crafted, the settings appropriately kitschy, the cast impeccable, with Tom Hollander offering a remarkable vocal impersonation of Thomas' voice. There are the familiar stock plot-elements; the obligatory sex-scenes involving Thomas, his wife Caitlin (Essie Davis), a Polish countess (Wanda Opalinska) and a street- girl; the picture-postcard shots of the Welsh coastline, with sequences shot in Thomas' writing-den right by the sea; and the syrupy music (by Debbie Wiseman) forming a - somewhat intrusive - backdrop to Thomas' love-scenes with Caitlin and his platonic relationship with amanuensis/secretary Liz Reitell (Phoebe Fox). In truth the drama doesn't tell us very much about Thomas' character, other than to suggest his fundamentally self-centered nature, and his continual memories of a childhood where he was often taunted by other children on account of his bronchial troubles. The atmosphere of early Fifties New York is adequately re-created, although the mock-up of the Chelsea Hotel (where Thomas spent his last days) looks nothing like the actual building. Some of the American accents are a bit questionable - especially Ewen Bremner's performance as Thomas' friend and promoter J. M. Brinnin - but in general this is a solid if somewhat unspectacular production.
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- l_rawjalaurence
- May 20, 2014
Details
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Color
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