FDR is a sort of hero of mine. I tend to gobble up good biographies about him, and I never ceased to be amazed at what the man accomplished despite having a disability that would have crushed most men. Because of my respect for FDR, I also gobble up any movies about him, and they've all been quite good. This is not my favorite; I think others have been somewhat better, but they covered different periods of his life.
Nevertheless, this film covers, primarily, his time as Warm Springs in Georgia, but through a reasonable number of flashbacks puts the period of this film in perspective. What is very impressive about the film is that they went to great lengths of make the film realistic. The car Kenneth Branagh drives is the car Roosevelt drove at Warm Springs. The cottage that Roosevelt stays in is the actual cottage he stayed in. Even the swimming pool was the real pool where he underwent therapy while at Warm Springs.
I guess what turns me off just a bit here is that I'm not sure Kenneth Branagh was quite right as Roosevelt. He does well, and of course we don't want someone doing an impression. But it's just not quite how I imagine that Roosevelt looked or acted. I could be wrong. But, keep in mind, that when I say "not quite right", I'm also not saying way off base.
I feel the same about Cynthia Nixon playing Eleanor Roosevelt. Close, respectable, but no kudos here.
David Paymer, a wonderful character actor, is interesting as Louis Howe, who -- if you read much about FDR -- was a pretty interesting fellow who "managed" Roosevelt over much of his political career. Jane Alexander does very nicely as FDR's overbearing mother, and it's interesting since I felt in an earlier film she played the definitive Eleanor Roosevelt. Kathy Bates is very good as a physical therapist. Tim Nelson is excellent as the original owner of Warm Springs who brings Roosevelt to see the decaying resort.
One area where this film is superb is in making people aware of how polio victims were treated. Considering the ravages of the disease and how little was known about it at the time, I guess I can understand that, but it's still shocking to see it depicted. This concern of the film was really quite inspirational as FDR began to evolve into someone who actually cared about others -- crucial to his later presidency (and of course, not as simple as portrayed in the film).
This is a good film about a particular chapter in FDR's life. By taking all the various films about FDR and piecing them together, you can learn a lot about our most inspirational leader.
Nevertheless, this film covers, primarily, his time as Warm Springs in Georgia, but through a reasonable number of flashbacks puts the period of this film in perspective. What is very impressive about the film is that they went to great lengths of make the film realistic. The car Kenneth Branagh drives is the car Roosevelt drove at Warm Springs. The cottage that Roosevelt stays in is the actual cottage he stayed in. Even the swimming pool was the real pool where he underwent therapy while at Warm Springs.
I guess what turns me off just a bit here is that I'm not sure Kenneth Branagh was quite right as Roosevelt. He does well, and of course we don't want someone doing an impression. But it's just not quite how I imagine that Roosevelt looked or acted. I could be wrong. But, keep in mind, that when I say "not quite right", I'm also not saying way off base.
I feel the same about Cynthia Nixon playing Eleanor Roosevelt. Close, respectable, but no kudos here.
David Paymer, a wonderful character actor, is interesting as Louis Howe, who -- if you read much about FDR -- was a pretty interesting fellow who "managed" Roosevelt over much of his political career. Jane Alexander does very nicely as FDR's overbearing mother, and it's interesting since I felt in an earlier film she played the definitive Eleanor Roosevelt. Kathy Bates is very good as a physical therapist. Tim Nelson is excellent as the original owner of Warm Springs who brings Roosevelt to see the decaying resort.
One area where this film is superb is in making people aware of how polio victims were treated. Considering the ravages of the disease and how little was known about it at the time, I guess I can understand that, but it's still shocking to see it depicted. This concern of the film was really quite inspirational as FDR began to evolve into someone who actually cared about others -- crucial to his later presidency (and of course, not as simple as portrayed in the film).
This is a good film about a particular chapter in FDR's life. By taking all the various films about FDR and piecing them together, you can learn a lot about our most inspirational leader.