Hyde Park on Hudson

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Hyde Park on Hudson
Hyde park on hudson poster.jpg
Directed by Roger Michell
Produced by David Aukin
Kevin Loader
Written by Richard Nelson
Starring Bill Murray
Laura Linney
Samuel West
Olivia Colman
Olivia Williams
Music by Jeremy Sams
Cinematography Lol Crawley
Editing by Nicolas Gaster
Studio Daybreak Pictures
Film4 Productions
Free Range Films
Distributed by Focus Features
Release date(s)
  • 31 August 2012 (2012-08-31) (Telluride)
  • 1 February 2013 (2013-02-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time 94 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Box office $7,935,053[2]

Hyde Park on Hudson is a 2012 British biographical historical comedy drama directed by Roger Michell. The film stars Bill Murray and Laura Linney as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, respectively. It was based on Suckley’s private journals and diaries, discovered after her death,[3][4][5] about her love affair with and intimate details about President Roosevelt.[4][5]

Contents

Plot [edit]

In June 1939, King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, made a visit to the United States, during which they stayed at President Franklin D. Roosevelt's country estate in Hyde Park, New York. At the same time, the President was growing closer to his sixth cousin[6] and suspected mistress, Margaret (Daisy) Suckley.[7] Roosevelt hoped he could use the visit to, in part, bolster American support for the United Kingdom on the eve of World War II, which broke out less than three months later.[8][9][10][11]

Cast [edit]

Production [edit]

[icon] This section requires expansion. (April 2012)

Screenwriter Richard Nelson was inspired by the story of Daisy Suckley after reading a posthumously published collection of her letters and diaries. He felt drawn to the story because of the unique perspective Daisy offered on a series of important historical events. He also connected with the setting, since Nelson lives in Rhinebeck and had even met Daisy briefly before she died in 1991.

Originally conceived as an idea for a film, Nelson's choice of director, Roger Michell, proved immediately unavailable. Nelson re-worked the script as a radio play, which was produced by the BBC in 2009, directed by Ned Chaillet. Once Michell became available, production began on the film.[12]

In early March 2011, director Roger Michell started searching for U.S. actors to play President Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.[13] Bill Murray agreed to play Roosevelt in late March.[14] Production designer Simon Bowles created upstate New York in England where the entire film was shot.

Release [edit]

Hyde Park on Hudson had its world premiere at the 2012 Telluride Film Festival on 31 August 2012, then at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2012, and again at the 2012 Savannah Film Festival on 31 October 2012, with limited release in the United States on 5[15] and 7 of December 2012, and wide release in January 2013. The UK release followed on 1 February 2013.

Critical reception [edit]

The film has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 37% "rotten" rating based on 150 reviews.[16] On Metacritic, the film holds a 55/100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[17]

The A.V. Club named it one of the worst movies of 2012, criticizing "the slapdash manner in which it’s assembled is genuinely shocking" and its "prevailing idiocy."[18]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times enjoyed the film, giving it 3-and-a-half stars out of 4 and said of Murray's performance: "Murray, who has a wider range than we sometimes realize, finds the human core of this FDR and presents it tenderly."

Bill Murray's performance as Roosevelt did garner praise, as he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

Production designer Simon Bowles won an award from the British Film Designers Guild on January 27, 2013 for his production design on this film.

Criticism of the depiction of history [edit]

During World War II, Suckley often stayed for long visits at the White House, keeping the president company. Although Roosevelt is known to have had an affair with Lucy Mercer during World War I, there is no direct evidence that he had a similar relationship with Suckley,[3][4][5] although there was an emotional connection.[4][5] Roosevelt apparently instructed Suckley to burn at least some of the letters he wrote to her,[3] which has fueled speculation about their content.

Focusing on how the historical events and people are portrayed, Conrad Black, author of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom, said the film took "large, ... sometimes scurrilous, liberties with historical facts."[19] In particular, he stated the movie erred in its depiction both of Roosevelt's relationship with women and of Eleanor Roosevelt's sexuality.[19]

Footage of the real events was filmed by Pathe News.[20]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "HYDE PARK ON HUDSON (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-10-19. 
  2. ^ Hyde Park on Hudson at Box Office Mojo
  3. ^ a b c Ireland, Barbara (September 7, 2007), "At the Home of FDR's Secret Friend", New York Times, retrieved May 12, 2010 
  4. ^ a b c d Starr, William (April 9, 1995), "New Woman Surfaces as FDR Intimate", The State (Columbia, SC) 
  5. ^ a b c d Swindell, Larry (May 7, 1995), "Papers found after Margaret Suckley's death reveal deep friendship with FDR", Fort Worth Star-Telegram 
  6. ^ Black, Allida (Apr 9, 1995), "In Love With the President", The Washington Post 
  7. ^ "Margaret Suckley", The Washington Post, Jul 3, 1991 
  8. ^ Osenlund, R. Kurt (September 25, 2012). "Hyde Park on the Hudson Review". Slant Magizine. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  9. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (December 5, 2012). "Hyde Park on the Hudson Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  10. ^ Scherstuhl, Alan (December 5, 2012). "In Hyde Park on Hudson, It's Patriotic to Pleasure a President". The Village Voice. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  11. ^ Reed, Rex (December 4, 2012 at 4 3:47pm). "A Wet, Hot American Summer: Hyde Park on Hudson Lets FDR Shed His Stuffy Layers". The New York Observer. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  12. ^ http://newyork.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/hyde-park-screenwriter-discusses-his-inspiration-and-bill-murray-1.4286633
  13. ^ "Film4 Hunting For Its President Roosevelt". Deadline.com. 25 March 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2012. 
  14. ^ "Bill Murray to play President Roosevelt in Hyde Park on Hudson". Retrieved April 25, 2012. 
  15. ^ "Focus Features "Hyde Park on Hudson"". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 December 2012. 
  16. ^ Hyde Park on Hudson at Rotten Tomatoes
  17. ^ Hyde Park on Hudson at Metacritic
  18. ^ The worst films of 2012, The A.V. Club, December 20, 2012, accessed December 20, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Black, Conrad (January 2, 2013). "FDR and Lincoln on Screen". National Review Online. Retrieved 3 January 2013. 
  20. ^ "Archive Footage of events". 

External links [edit]

Films directed by Roger Michell
1990s
2000s
2010s
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