Hyde Park on Hudson: A Few Good Moments But Overall a Chore to Watch

Director Roger Michell (Changing Lanes) with the aid of screenwriter Richard Nelson manage to deliver a film -based on recently discovered letters of Margaret Stuckley- that while well made, misses expectations. Hyde Park is a well-performed minuet, full of pomp and circumstance and yet lacking in all the depth and relevance it purports to contain.

Premise: The story of FDR’s affair with his distant cousin Mary Stuckley, including a weekend visit from the King and Queen of England.  Result: An often dull film that tries for too much and results in mediocrity.

The film centers on the drab, withering Daisy (Laura Linney) -distant cousin to the then President of the United States FDR (Bill Murray)- and the story of her summoning to Hyde Park, the President’s childhood home and occasional retreat. Their introduction is painfully slow, as the awe-struck Daisy is slowly (oh so slowly!) devoured by the deliberate charms of the Commander-in-Chief.  To hit home just how ponderous this courtship is, it begins with a viewing of stamps and ends with car rides in the country to look at trees and fairly unimpressive expanses.

Their affair escalates over time and Daisy falls in love with her distant cousin, always visiting, always hovering.  While this affair commences, the advent of a war in Europe brings the King and Queen of England to The U.S. to solicit support.  The preparations are chaotic, driving his mother Mrs. Roosevelt (Elizabeth Wilson) into madness and his wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams) and staff person Missy (Elizabeth Marvel) into upheaval as well.  But Daisy, ever devoid of personality and discenerable emotion, stands and watches like a frail flower.

As King Albert – “Bertie”- (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) arrive at Hyde Park, virtually glistening with abject terror, the film begins to pick up ever slightly.  The two are vulnerable, coming to America as the first Monarchs of England to do so, and certainly the first do so in supplication. And so each bizarre detail, each colloquialism, each folk custom the Americans throw their way, is met with faux smiles and secret fear that they are being mocked.

Initially, this is disaster both for the characters and the audiences; between the incessant stuttering and the strange FDR accent, audiences will strain to comprehend the dialogue or maintain interest at all. But there are a few fun moments between the four: President and First Lady, King and Queen – all of whom have dynamic personalities and stunningly similar dispositions, if they happen to express themselves differently. There is good chemistry between these characters and as the weekend progresses, there is a general good feeling that shines forth that will ultimately touch the audience.

And the film may have simply under-delivered slightly if it had been based entirely on this plot; unfortunately, the Daisy plot line interweaves like a serpent in high grass, looming, lurking and waiting for audiences to become interested once again only to strike with powerful, venomous tedium. Daisy and her relationship with FDR is a complete cinematic “Debbie-Downer” moment that drags on far all of time, with very little payoff.

Ultimately, this strained adulterous relationship as juxtaposed with the humorous, if bizarre, “Royal” weekend, is entirely incongruous in tone and while it attempts to provide multiple sides to the president, the film only succeeds in confusing emotions and muddling impact.  Ultimately, Hyde Park feels schizophrenic, like several plotlines mashed together, never coalescing.

The acting in the film is good.  Murray is an immeasurable talent but somehow struggles to make this character work.  He is fair and by the end of the film he does enough to convince audiences that this is a departure for him and a role he ultimately pulls off.  But never truly is the specter of miscasting lifted from him, and his accent takes much of the film to digest.

Linney is good as always, but in a role that isn’t interesting or noteworthy.  Fortunately for her, her long, talented career allows audiences to blame the role, that of a cardboard, graying woman, as the main reason why her time on screen can’t pass quickly enough.

The rest of the cast actually exceeds expectations.  West is quote humorous as the King and Colman manages to be both grating and endearing as the Queen.  Wilson is hysterical as the mother figure while Williams manages to completely embody Eleanor, both in her free spirit and her strength. All help to elevate a film that often feels sluggish and confused.

In the end, Hyde Park never delivers.  While there are certainly good moments, as a whole it is disappointing and more often than not requires strict effort to get through.  Besides the monotony, it is also dysfunctional, trying to do too much but accomplishing too little.  It is a testament to the cast and crew that the film achieved what it did.

Rating: 6 – A mediocre Prosecco that a cute bartender served you