Director: Gurinder Chadha
Writer: Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, Moira Buffini (Screenplay) Narendra Singh Sarila (Book)
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi, Michael Gambon, Om Puri, David Hayman
Plot: The final Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, is tasked with overseeing the transition of British India to independence, but meets with conflict as different sides clash in the face of monumental change.
Tagline – The end of an empire. The birth of two nations.
Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Nice History Lesson
Story: Viceroy’s House starts as Lord Mountbatten (Bonneville) is taking his place as the last Viceroy of India, to help see oversea the independence of India, his wife Lady Edwina wants to help with change by making the house open to Indian’s something the residents have never seen before.
We also meet young Indian Jeet Kumar (Dayal) who gets hired to the staff that has a past with Aalia Noor (Qureshi) who have their own feelings to battle against tradition. As Lord Mountbatten tries to bring the leaders of Indian together, we only see how the country becomes more divided over their independence and how he tries to do the best he can to stop the bloodshed.
Thoughts on Viceroy’s House
Characters – Lord Mountbatten was the British choice to take over the Viceroy house during the final days of the British Empire’s control of India, he wants a peaceful transition only to learn the divide in the people wants their own country Pakistan. He must show the leadership skills to create the peace needed for this nation after the years that British ruling. Lady Mountbatten opens up the house to more Indian families, she wants to create an equal environment for the people, she will rid the house of anyone that shows discrimination in a hope for an equal future. Jeet Kumar is a young man that gets a job in the Viceroy House under Lord Mountbatten he wants to see the peace unfold, but his heart is take by a former friend Aalia.
Performances – Hugh Bonneville is great in this leading role, he brings us the class the character requires while also giving us the human side needed. Gillian Anderson is good even if her accent does come off overly posh at times. Manish Dayal as the young Indian is strong too with Huma Qureshi going well in the side story which is about love through the difficult times.
Story – The story here follows the time in history when Britain gave up the power of India and the chaos this caused between the Indian’s and their different religious beliefs. It showed us how Britain once again looked down on a nation for being different and had to learn just how important equality within all nations should be. It also shows us the different between the people with different religious beliefs which could be against each other so easily, a problem we still see today. There is a love story put into this film which doesn’t feel the most important to everything going on.
Biopic/History – This is an important look at a historical moment in human history, one that changed India forever and showed the British at their best and worst.
Settings – The film takes us to India where we believe we are at the same time and place as this movie’s events, nothing feels or looks out of place.
Scene of the Movie – Lady Mountbatten putting an English helper in her place, back on a boat.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The love story does feel like something we didn’t need.
Final Thoughts – This is a wonderful look at the history of the British Empire and India, we see the struggle the country went through during the time of change, one larger than ever seen, for the history fans out there, this will be one for you to see.
Overall: History fans will enjoy this movie.
Rating
