Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

I was not expecting much from the this film but it really surprised and impressed me. From the previews I knew the story concerned the 1939 state visit of Britain's royal couple King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to FDR's family home in New York, a visit that played some part in paving the way for lend lease support of the UK against Germany, and later direct American involvement on the Allied side in the War. While that is a major part of the film it is not its central focus, rather that focus is on the, lets say unusual, relationship between sitting president Franklin Roosevelt, and his fourth cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckely, here played by Laura Linny who really sells this whole film.

In fact I think a case can be made that this is the most rounded portrait of FDR in film. Which is made more surprising by the fact that Franklin Roosevelt is here portrayed by Billy Murray, who plays the part straight and does a much better job then I would have anticipated. We here see demonstrated the very admirable qualities of president Roosevelt, his perseverance in the face of adversity, such as his polio. His tremendous foresight about the coming war in Europe, and his subtle calculated manipulation of events to slowly nudge an isolationist United States in the interventionist direction he knew it needed to go. Yet the film does not shy away from the less reputable parts of FDR's persona, like his carrying on an extramarital affair with his cousin, and his secretary, and a DC socialite, all at the same. It also appears that these women were aware of, and even on good terms with, each other. Which caused me to realize midway through the film that Franklin Roosevelt, was for all intents and purposes, a practicing polygamist. Yet he was still a great man, and this film does a remarkable job of conveying that.

A deceptively low key film, large portions play like an unusually dry screwball comedy. While Franklin and his cousin Daisy are the primary focus of the film, plenty of screen time is given to the royal couple played by Samuel West and Olivia Colman, who are really just as interesting, and it was nice to see these "characters" again after the Kings Speech. I thought this movie was a real underappreciated find. ***1/2