Dean Spanley: Movie Review

Dean Spanley: Movie Review

Rating: 7/10
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam, Bryan Brown, Art Malik
Director: Toa Fraser
Sometimes a film comes along which takes you completely by surprise.
A film which you try and explain to people the basic plot of and they look at you like you've lost the plot completely.
Dean Spanley is one of those films.
Based on the book by Lord Dunsany, this film from New Zealand director Toa Fraser (No 2) is based in London Edwardian times and centres around a cantankerous Fisk senior (played with impish irascibility by Peter O' Toole) and his relationship with his son Fisk Junior (Jeremy Northam)
Junior spends every Thursday with his father - out of a sense of family ritual rather than a desire to be with him; but each visit drives a wedge even further between the two.
One day Fisk junior suggests they attend a seminar on reincarnation from a Swami Nala Prash; however O'Toole's character dismisses the entire meeting as "poppycock"
Tucked away at the back of the audience, is Dean Spanley (played by Sam Neill) - his attendance piques Fisk Junior's curiosity and he decides to invite the Dean to dinner to further explore his beliefs.
But the Dean has to be tempted to attend with the promise of the provision of a bottle of a Hungarian wine known as Tokay - a wine only given out by Royal Assent.
The problem is that this Tokay, when imbibed by the Dean, sends him back to a former life - as a dog.
Astounded by what he's seen, Fisk Junior soon finds himself on a quest to secure more Tokay so that he can explore even deeper the reality of the Dean's former life.
Dean Spanley is one of those films which will be given the label of quirky - but to do so, is to simply dismiss its warmth and story - plus the ending is such an emotional sucker punch that it'll catch you unawares.
Northam and Bryan Brown are good in their roles and O'Toole gives a sterling performance as usual - his eyes sparkle with a cheeky cantankerous fire.
(There's also a brief appearance from a new Shortland Street character (Tai Scott) as Harrington Fisk played by actor Xavier Horan - whose fleeting moments on film are pivotal to the Fisk's relationship)
But it's Sam Neill whose performance steals this film.
Initially, his Dean Spanley seems a little aloof and wary of the Fisks - but the more he imbibes the Tokay, it becomes clearer to the audience how much of Neill's performance is channeling that of a pooch.
From the jowly beard to the whimpering noises he makes when he first sniffs the wine, Neill embodies all the behaviours of a dog - but in a subtle and restrained way.

Dean Spanley is a tale of fathers and sons, dogs and their masters - of comradeship and relationships, reincarnation and reconciliation - this offbeat story will leave you with a whimsical grin on your face.