Set during Laurel and Hardy's final stage tour of the UK and Ireland in 1953, the film serves as a beautifully visual and scripted character study of the pair at the tail end of their career.
At the heart of the film are two great performances by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as the eponymous duo. The recreation of their look, voices, mannerisms and routines seems flawless and unforced. The contrast between their screen personas, that made their films a success and their actual personalities off screen, is plausibly portrayed. There is good support from Nina Ariande and Shirley Henderson as Mrs Laurel and Hardy, whose spiky relationship mirrors that of their respective husbands' on screen characters.
The film shot with a keen eye for the period, using some interesting close shots angled through mirrors to capture the pair's expressions and wider sweeping ones to show audience's response. There are some neatly timed comic scenes of their life imitating their art.
A fine balance of humour and poignance.
At the heart of the film are two great performances by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as the eponymous duo. The recreation of their look, voices, mannerisms and routines seems flawless and unforced. The contrast between their screen personas, that made their films a success and their actual personalities off screen, is plausibly portrayed. There is good support from Nina Ariande and Shirley Henderson as Mrs Laurel and Hardy, whose spiky relationship mirrors that of their respective husbands' on screen characters.
The film shot with a keen eye for the period, using some interesting close shots angled through mirrors to capture the pair's expressions and wider sweeping ones to show audience's response. There are some neatly timed comic scenes of their life imitating their art.
A fine balance of humour and poignance.