This is a very curious movie. Kind of a children's film for adults. Based on a story by the wonderful Roald Dahl and co-written by the excellent filmmaker Richard Curtis, it's almost cartoonish in its approach. I felt Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman are well cast as a vivacious retired midwife, Mrs Silver, and a very shy, lonely American retiree, Mr Hoppy, who live one above the other in an apartment block. Dustin's character wants to win the heart of Judi, so he sets out to grant her wish that her tortoise, Alfie, will grow bigger. He does this by secretly winching Alfie out of her garden, and replacing him with a slightly bigger tortoise, and then replacing that tortoise, and so on until 'Alfie' - which is who Judi's character believes he still is - is the desired weight. The whole story is narrated straight to camera by the wonderful James Corden, playing their neighbour with a lot of wit and a little cynicism. The movie would be good for someone stuck in hospital or sick in bed at home, because it's very undemanding. Other reviewers say the Dustin character is deceptive, but actually Judi's character isn't perfect, either -- she can't accept Alfie just as he is, and she also can't see that her neighbour adores her. And Dustin doesn't kill off the tortoises he replaces: he keeps them all in his increasingly crowded apartment. The message of this film is that if you love someone, you should tell them directly, and not waste time, because trying to win their heart in indirect ways can create all sorts of chaos, and ultimately you can miss out. Also that it's never too late to fall in love, which is kind of nice.
Review of Roald Dahl's Esio Trot
