Pete Postlethwaite - Blog Posts
11. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: The Serpent's Kiss (1997)
Fun Fact! If you're a fan of the "Long Way" motorcycle series with Ewan and his best friend Charlie Boorman, then you'll be pleased to know that their friendship began on this movie! Charlie has a minor role in the film as a secretary. He and Ewan met while filming and bonded over their love of motorcycles. The rest is history!
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: R
Director: Philippe Rousselot
Starring: Pete Postlethwaite, Greta Scacchi, Carmen Chaplin, Ewan McGregor
Synopsis: "The Serpent's Kiss" is about the Smithers family. Mr. Smithers wants to give his wife the gift of a garden so he hires a top-notch landscaper that his in-law recommends to him. Mrs. Smithers isn't very interested in the garden but prefers games and tricks. Specifically those she can play on people. Their daughter, Ann/Thea, is a peculiar girl. She reads far too much and gets along better with nature than people. While her mother indulges her, her father worries for her health and hires a physician to "cure" her or her abnormalities. Once the young landscaper arrives, it becomes evident that he is not just there to build a garden, but to use his expertise to exact revenge for his secret employer.
Ewan Review: Ewan plays the character Meneer Chrome who is a famed Dutch landscaper. He takes a job in England with the goal of transforming the overgrown lawn of the Smithers family into a one-of-a-kind, modern, garden. As he works on the project, he becomes interested in his boss's eccentric daughter while her mother becomes interested in him. Ewan speaks in a Dutch and English accent for this role but mainly Dutch. I'm not familiar with Dutch accents but I'm going to be bold and say that his was terrible. It annoyed the crap out of me! I couldn't take it seriously, it was forced, and completely took me out of the movie every time he opened his mouth. I would've enjoyed this movie a lot more if he didn't have to use that god awful accent. He has a female love interest and two kiss scenes. One is with a man and the other is with a woman . He also does some flirting with his boss's wife. There's an implied sex scene and implied nudity. You do get to briefly see him shirtless though. He wears a wig and you also get to see the worst haircut he has ever had in a movie to date. His performance isn't very good. There were a couple moments where it felt like I was listening to him recite lines from a paper. It didn't seem like he was all in for this project but decided to coast through. This might be a nit-pick but it's not a spoiler: not long after we meet his character he randomly tosses his wig off for no discernable reason and he never puts it back on. Nobody says anything about it. All the men of high class wore wigs in the movie so I assumed for a man to walk around wigless in front of high society would be deemed offensive. Anyway, I don't know what the point of that scene was.
Screentime Percentage: Ewan is on screen for a grand total of 44/106 minutes making his SP 42%.
To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is the movie worth watching for Ewan alone? No. Although he is in much of the movie, he just doesn't do a lot nor is he interesting. Honestly, the character is boring. I wouldn't turn this on for Ewan. Is the movie worth watching in general? Sadly, it's another no from me. In all fairness, it's so weird that it charmed me a little but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I don't know what audience this movie was made for.
Warning before Watching: There is a whole incest subplot in the movie. There aren't any sex scenes or anything but the movie makes sure you know they're related so keep that in mind. In a scene where Thea is overcome with emotion she intentionally cuts her face. The scenes of her being "cured" of her "illness" by the physician could also be uncomfy to watch. There's nothing graphic but you do hear her scream in pain and just the general treatment of this character is sad. Lastly, you see someone die from poison.
Where to Watch: "The Serpent's Kiss" is available to stream for free on Tubi, Sling TV, Redbox, Amazon Prime Video, and Freevee. It's also currently uploaded for free to YouTube. Just search "The Serpent's Kiss Full action Movie Drama Ewan McGregor".
9. Ewan McGregor Movie Review: Brassed Off (1996)
We made it to our last movie of 1996 and boy, is it a good one!
Some fun facts before we begin!
Pete Gunn has a minor role in the movie as the character Simmo. You might remember that he worked alongside Ewan in the movie "Blue Juice"!
While the movie takes place in the village Grimley, the story is actually inspired by the mining village Grimethorpe whose pit was closed just three years before the movie released.
The Grimethorpe Colliery Band performed all the band numbers in the movie.
Ewan's character plays a tenor horn in the band. I think it's a fun fact because when Ewan was a teenager, he played the French horn!
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Rating: R
Director: Mark Herman
Starring: Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor
Synopsis: "Brassed Off" is about the 1980s pit closures in the United Kingdom. It takes place in Grimley, a coal mining village, that is next on the chopping block to have it's colliery shut down. The village is also home to the Grimley Colliery Band which has existed for 100 years and the characters are all part of. But with the possibility of the pit closing comes the possibility of the end of the band for good. Band leader Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) challenges the men to fight one last time to win the National Brass Band Competition in London. When Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald), a former resident of Grimley, makes a surprise return to the village, she joins the band and sets out to bring hope to the weary miners.
Ewan Review: Ewan plays the character Andy Barrows, a coal miner and member of the local band. Andy is initially excited to be reunited with Gloria as the two had a former romance. However, when he learns why Gloria has been keeping her return a secret, he becomes unsure whether he can trust her or if they were ever meant to be. Ewan wears an earring in this role and speaks with a Yorkshire accent. His character is broody so expect a lot of scowls which is a change of pace from his many smiley characters. He has an implied sex scene and a makeout scene. His acting, along with the rest of the cast, gets an A+ from me!
Screentime Percentage: Ewan is on screen for a grand total of 26/107 minutes making his SP 24%.
To Ewan or not to Ewan: Is the movie worth watching for Ewan alone? No. He already doesn't have much to do in this movie and he's part of an ensemble cast so the story is spread out over several different characters. Honestly, I found myself more interested in other storylines than his. He's good when he's on screen and is nice to look at but this just isn't a Ewan content heavy role. Is the movie worth watching in general? Absolutely! This movie has an amazing story, the actors have great chemistry, the music is phenomenal, and you get to learn in an intimate way about an important time in history. I can tell you that before watching this movie I didn't know anything about the miner strikes or pit closures. Now, I'm reading up on the history!
Warning before watching: There is a suicide attempt scene.
Where to Watch: "Brassed Off" is available for rent on YouTube, Fandango at Home, and Amazon Prime Video. You can also watch it for free on soap2day.
Closing Thoughts: This movie so creatively weaves together a story of anger, depression, and hope. The characters are fleshed out and feel real. You hurt for their plight and root for their fight. The movie has a bittersweet ending. I applaud the director, Mark Herman, for sharing with the world the harm done to the miners of the U.K. and their perseverance through it all.
