I wanted to but couldn't!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

What at first I thought would be a "light comedy" turned into an engaging and enjoyable film. The theme of "companionship" seems to resonate throughout the film. Seen through the eyes of Fisk the younger (Jeremy Northam)we are taken on a journey of understanding: what causes a person to emotionally "shut-down"? Fisk the younger's conversations with his father (Peter O'Toole) are emotionally strained and at best, simply "dutiful". As the only surviving family member, he visits his father each Thursday to fulfill his role as loving son. The father - "Fisk senior" - is crotchety, opinionated and without even enough love to call his son by his first name - Henslowe. Instead, he refers to his son as a headmaster would refer to a student: Fisk junior. (Made me think of O'Toole in "Goodbye Mr. Chips"!)But Henslowe is looking for a way to breakthrough with his relationship with his father and is given the chance by meeting Dean Spanley (Sam Neill) when Henslowe, his father, and Spanley all attend a discussion on "The Transmigration of Souls". There begins a regular meeting between Spanley and Henslowe - helped along by Henslowe agreeing to provide a drink called "Tokay" to Spanley, in exchange for Spanley relating his views on Re-incarnation. What follows is not what you think, but allows Henslowe to possibly understand why his father acts as he does. Without going into more detail and possibly spoiling it, I found this film to be superb in its acting. Northam is the anti-thesis of his father. O'Toole is stern and unloving, yet you still sense he misses those who have died. Northam is loving, yet not "whimpy" - he has a backbone. You sense at one point that the relationship is going to explode, but it doesn't. Neill is wonderful as the slightly eccentric Spanley. Brian Brown adds the touch of whimsy as the "soldier of fortune", who provides Henslowe with his needed "Tokay". I am always amazed to find these films and wonder why I never heard of them before. It is a wonderful study in human emotion and the longing for companionship - whether in dogs or humans. And, it is a triumph when we breakthrough and understand another persons pain and help them overcome. There is so much going on in this film: the study of how each one deals with loss. How we each deal with grief. The theme of companionship seen by the viewing of pictures or "Wrather" in his two-seater. The conversations of Spanley as "wags". All explore the theme of companionship which is the most basic of longings that we all have. I only gave it a 9 instead of 10, simply because I found the first half hour to be rather slow-moving. That may just be my own impression. The best part of the film is certainly the last 45 minutes. It was one of those films that when it ended, you wished it hadn't!

For dog lovers a particular delight (cats get fairly short shrift!) and for those who aren't dog lovers in particular, a pleasant, interesting and gentle journey with some favourite, but frequently under-rated, actors. It's always a pleasure to know long-time favourites - Peter O'Toole and Judy Parfitt - are still busy filling roles that seem made for them. Northam, Neill, Brown and Malik round out a well-balanced cast and are convincing and articulate in excellent Edwardian fashion. This works as well as a fairy tale for those who take the film with a large pinch of salt as, one assumes, it does for those who are believers in such fairy tales. Either way, a charming film, not flashy, not big- budget, not likely to turn up at a box-office near you but a delight nevertheless.

Like a fine wine this film moves its way around the palette. Roles are superbly under-played; silence replaces explosion, wry smile for laughter, lingering looks without raised eyebrows. This is a play of manners, a perfectly pitched study in to the calm veil that shields all from underlying raw emotions.What's it about? Well it has men, women, dogs and wine; it is set in Edwardian England, and if having watched it you think its about man's best friend, then please avoid having children, let your genes stop with you. To me Dean Spanley was like one of those magic eye pictures; where you may stare for a long time before the mind relaxes and lets you realise what you are looking at - and in this case it is a real work of art.Be warned this is a deceptively powerful story - take tissues.

Shakespeare addresses the joys of hearing the English language spoken as perfectly and beautifully as every actor does in this thoroughly delightful film DEAN SPANLEY: 'Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc'd it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines.' Based on the novel 'My Talks with Dean Spanley' by the colorful writer Lord Dunsany (Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, July 24, 1878 in London, England, UK - October 25, 1957 (age 79) in Dublin, Ireland) and adapted for the screen with great dexterity and gentility by Alan Sharp, the story is a study in the meaning of reincarnation in the most delightful sense of the term! Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior (Peter O'Toole) is caustic, nihilistic has little time or affection for his son Fisk Junior (Jeremy Northam) - they visit only on Thursdays and then in only the most routine of circumstances: even the housekeeper Mrs. Brimley (Judy Parfitt) knows to only fix one boring Hot Pot for them to eat. Fisk Senior seems to have placed all his hopes on his other son who was killed in the Boer War of 1899 to 1902. Fisk Junior encouraged by his friend Wrather (Bryan Brown) breaks tradition and takes his father to a talk by the guru Nawab of Ranjiput (Ramon Tikaram) where they hear about the Indian concept of reincarnation and the inferiority of cats. The lecture is attended also by a vicar named Dean Spanley (Sam Neill) and what follows is a series of conversations and revelations over glasses of Tokay that seem to open up the vicar's remembrance of past lives - a fact that eventually relates to Fisk Senior and manages to change the grumpy old man's outlook on life. Directed by Toa Fraser with terrific atmosphere and Edwardian elegance, the actors are all superb, but one of the most satisfying aspects of this film is simply hearing a screenplay of perfect English spoken symphonically. It is a thoroughly delightful film on every level. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp