Edwin (1984 TV Movie) User Reviews

Wry Fun with Sir Alec

[film_ophile · 8/10 · 8 March 2005]

I have spent the last weeks researching and viewing noteworthy Alec Guinness performances that i had not previously seen.Over the years, I have found that British humor either has me giggling or leaves me cold.This film I enjoyed very much though I can imagine others finding it boring. It falls into that 'subject talking into camera' category and reminds me of another of that ilk, ' Bed of Lentils', with a bravura performance by Dame Maggie Smith. Well, this one has a bravura performance by Sir Alec Guinness as a recently retired senior judge, grouchy and egotistical.He has decided, this day, to finally, once and for all, find out if his neighbor of forty-odd years is the father of the son he has always believed to be his own. The occasion is the lunchtime visit of that son,Edwin, who has lived away in Canada for many years.The screenplay is terrific; the banter between husband, wife, and neighbor/extended family member - is most perfectly revealing and wryly humorous.The resolution is a lovely kick -in- the- pants.

Morley's Ghost

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 5 January 2015]

There is, of course, nothing new under the sun, only seven basic plots etc so that eventually, should you wait long enough an old wine will resurface clad in a new - or newish bottle. Several people have tried their hand at the character who is never seen yet lends his or her name to the work (Rebecca, anyone). Back in the day the multi-talented Robert Morley wrote a play to showcase his twin gifts for writing and acting, he called it Edward, My Son, and after a successful West End run it became a movie starring Spencer Tracy and Deborah Kerr as the parents of the never-seen Edward. Clearly the format appealed to another multi-talented man, barrister-cum-writer John Mortimer, and he threw his wig into the ring via a television play which he wrote specifically for Alec Guiness. Nothing if not alliteral he called it Edwin, the name of the son whom Guiness now, in late middle age, begins to doubt is his own. He suspects neighbour Paul Rogers of - as he puts it succinctly - Rogering his wife, Renee Asherson, and the bulk of the action - if one can call it that - is a cross examination by retired High Court judge Guiness and potter neighbour Rogers along the lines of did you roger my wife/are you the father of Edwin, my son. Written for independent television it falls naturally into Acts one of which ends with the arrival of Edwin for dinner. This eponymous character is seen only in long-shot as his mother calls the two protagonists into lunch. The next Act finds Edwin been and gone having eaten and run. As can be imagined not a lot happens drama-wise so that the pleasure is solely in the performances and all three actors are on top form.

Some high humor from a British TV movie

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 17 November 2015]

The billing for "Edwin" is a drama. The promotion and publicity about it is all about a retired British judge, his long-time neighbor and friend, his wife, and their son. Edwin is never in the picture (we see the back of his head when he comes to visit his mother). And the substance of the movie is the judge's speculation over who might be the real father of Edwin.

But for a garden scene and a stroll by the three characters, one can see this as a perfect stage play. It can be a drama, of course. But it is much more than that. It's a sophisticated comedy with some very clever exchanges between the characters. And, I saw something in this film early on that the promoters didn't tout but that is quite obvious. The judge was so wedded to his work that it was all that mattered to him in life. So much so that he took his wife for granted. Then, and since his retirement we see that he is a very self-centered person. Now the stuffy pride has an ally.

For instance, he didn't even know that his son, Edwin, had come to visit them a number of times, but he had paid no attention or was away on a pleasure trip with his friend. I think the implication that his wife makes might be a red herring, or just for speculation to see what the judge would do with it. I didn't see it as the answer to his apparent angst after all these years about the true paternity of his son. It anything it might have been a way for the lady to get a little justice from her husband's own neglect of her over the years. Otherwise, I think she would not have been a "liberated" woman or one for whom freedom would include committing adultery. I say that because her character here is a strong person, and one who would easily be able to bear down on her husband if she felt too neglected.

So, this wonderful little film has some very good acting by its three sole performers. Alec Guinness is the retired judge, Sir Fennimore Truscott. Renee Asherson is his wife, Lady Margaret Truscott. And Paul Rogers is their friend and long-time neighbor, Thomas Marjoriebanks.

This is really a film with much tongue-in-cheek. It's not one of lots of laughs. Fen and Thomas spar nicely with little barbs here and there. And Lady Margaret goes about her garden and kitchen chores, with occasional inserts to stir the brew. The only real reason there is any question at all about Edwin's paternity, is because a retired judge has too much time on his hands and doesn't aspire to find customary ways of retirement to fill the time. It's all quite fun, but perhaps not the type of comedy that will appeal to everyone.