This is a biographical drama that concentrates on the early life of Welsh actor, Richard Burton.
MR. BURTON. Starring Harry Lawley, Toby Jones, Lesley Manville, and Aneurin Bernard. Directed by Marc Evans. Rated M (Mature themes and coarse language). 124 min.
Review by Peter W Sheehan, Jesuit Media Australia
The early life of Welsh actor, Richard Burton, is largely unknown. The film is written by Tom Bullough and Josh Hyams. In the movie, Harry Lawley takes the role of young school boy, Richard Jenkins. His teacher at school was Phillip Henry Burton (Toby Jones), and Jenkins later changed his name to Richard Burton. Richard Jenkins lived in the Welsh town of Port Talbot with a struggling family and an alcoholic father in the time of war. As a boy he excelled in drama and his talent quickly caught the watchful eye of his English teacher, who mentored him to greatness.
Richard Burton is the biggest star Wales has ever produced, and the film has a stellar British cast. Although the movie focuses on the early years of Richard Burton, it focuses majorly on Richard Burton’s teacher, Philip Henry Burton, who encouraged young Richard to become the acting legend, Richard Burton, who movie and theatre audiences know so well today.
The film engrossingly canvasses the mentorship of a teacher who was himself a frustrated actor, and who inspired a needy young pupil to embrace international stardom as an actor. Richard Jenkins changed his name to Burton to intentionally facilitate his teacher’s sponsorship of an Oxford scholarship for him, and the film compellingly documents Philip’s Burton’s loneliness and personal frustrations as Richard’s childhood mentor.
The dynamic relationships of Burton as a mature adult are not at all the concern of this movie. Rather, it focuses sympathetically on a teacher, who was astute enough to spot the enormous potential of one of his students. The movie very impressively documents Richard Burton’s childhood teacher as an inspirational person who mentored Richard to become an acting legend.
The wartime period of the movie is conveyed well by the film’s location, sets, acting, costuming and cinematography. The film renders its story through a multi-layered development of Richard Burton’s early life, and the movie is powered to greatness by the performance of Toby Jones.
Reviewed by Peter W Sheehan