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Wah-Wah
2006
A 14-year-old British boy returns to his home in colonial Swaziland to find that his father has remarried a free-spirited American woman that he has known for six weeks. A semi-autobiographical coming of age story by actor Richard E. Grant (WITHNAIL AND I), WAH-WAH is set in the late 1960s in Swaziland, as the country is set to .. Read more
| Starring | Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Julie Walters, Nicholas Hoult |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard E. Grant |
| Genres | Drama |
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Wah-Wah
A 14-year-old British boy returns to his home in colonial Swaziland to find that his father has remarried a free-spirited American woman that he has known for six weeks. A semi-autobiographical coming of age story by actor Richard E. Grant (WITHNAIL AND I), WAH-WAH is set in the late 1960s in Swaziland, as the country is set to be handed back by the British to the native people. Ralph Compton is an 11-year-old boy who witnesses his mother's adultery with his father's best friend. His parents subsequently divorce and Ralph is sent to boarding school. His father Harry descends into alcoholism as--allied to the betrayal by his wife and best friend--his position as Minister of Education is set to end with the onset of independence. Ralph returns home at the age of 14 to find that Harry has married an American ex-air hostess called Ruby, who he has known for six weeks. Ruby ridicules the snobbery of the colonials and forges a bond with Harry. Grant's film is a moving account of the breakdown of a family, juxtaposed with the breakdown of the British Empire.
| Starring | Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Julie Walters, Nicholas Hoult, Miranda Richardson |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard E. Grant |
| Studio | LIONS GATE HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 35 mins Watch now: 1 hr 35 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English Watch Online: English |
| Released | DVD: 16 Oct 2006 Watch now: 14 Aug 2009 Production year: 2006 |
| Watch now | £2.49 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Brilliant...extraordinarily moving and profound, yet full of humour
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Most helpful member's review
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37 out of 38 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Wah Wah
Actor Richard E Grant has attracted an excellent cast to his heavily autobiographical directorial debut but the end result is something of a mixed bag.
Set in Swaziland at the end of empire Wah Wah has a mass of plot for a 100 minute film; alcoholism, divorce, cancer, first love, the end of empire and an amateur production of Camelot all feature. It's this that most hurts the film; Grant has so many strands that none ever really feel fully fleshed out (Gabriel Byrne's alcoholism arrives out of nowhere and then vanishes with some pills).
However Wah Wah is a charming film and has much to recommend it. The adult cast are excellent. Miranda Richardson puts in a strong, if brief, showing as Byrne's first wife and Byrne is also excellent but Emily Watson, who flounces in about 20 minutes in as the brassy American Ruby (Byrne's second wife) is inspired, complete with authentic accent Watson acts everyone else off the screen. Everyone that is but Celia Imrie, whose incredibly stuck up, uproariously funny, Lady Riva makes you wish she was more than a cameo.
Unfortunately Nicholas Hoult (as Grant's alter ego) still can't act. He's taller now but otherwise is still the vacant mannequin of About A Boy. Camelot and a budding romance (the other side of which is the director's daughter Olivia) are all but brushed aside and both are missed as they would add depth to Ralph's life outside his family which is sorely needed.
I'll certainly look at Wah Wah again on dvd, there's lots to admire, not least Grant's direction which really is one of the stars of the film, and i hope there will be copious deleted scenes as this feels like an abbreviated version of a better film -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
WAHwful
Why is Richard E Grant appalling in anything other than Withnail?
Ok he's not in this, as he directed and wrote it and then packaged it off as a last days of colonial Swaziland story which manages to avoid all political content.
Instead we are given tea parties and relationship problems between wholly unsympathetic characters.
See something realistic if you want Africa... Tsotsi, Goodbye Bafana, Shooting Dogs all have real history and real heart. -
News and features
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Grant gets Edinburgh Film Festival underway
- 18 Aug 2005
The Edinburgh Film Festival has opened with Wah-Wah, the directorial debut of Richard E Grant. The film boasts a strong cast including Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson and Julie Walters. The film tells the story of a family in Swaziland as British rule comes to a close, a far cry from films Grant starred in such as Withnail And I, Jack And Sarah and Spice World. Some 50 films will enjoy their first screening at the festival, including another British offering, Asylum, which... Read more
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A 14-year-old British boy returns to his home in colonial Swaziland to find that his father has remarried a free-spirited American woman that he has known for six weeks. A semi-autobiographical ... -