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Movies / On DVD / Wah-Wah
Wah-Wah

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Wah-Wah (2006)

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Reviews Counted:66

Fresh:34

Rotten:32

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: The ensemble cast is strong, but they get overpowered by the muddled stew of melodrama.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:02-06-2006

Synopsis: Acclaimed actor Richard E. Grant's "Wah-Wah" is a semi-autobiographical "coming-of-age at the end of an age" story, told through the eyes of young Ralph Compton. Set during the last gasp of the... Acclaimed actor Richard E. Grant's "Wah-Wah" is a semi-autobiographical "coming-of-age at the end of an age" story, told through the eyes of young Ralph Compton. Set during the last gasp of the British Empire in Swaziland, South East Africa, in 1969, the plot focuses on the dysfunctional Compton family whose gradual disintegration mirrors the end of British rule. As an 11-year-old, Ralph witnesses his mother's adultery with his father's best friend. His parents divorce and Ralph is sent to boarding school. His father, Harry (Gabriel Byrne), not only loses his wife (Miranda Richardson) and best friend, but also his position as Minister of Education with the coming of Independence, prompting his rapid descent into alcoholism. Now 14, Ralph (Nicholas Hoult) returns home to discover that his father has re-married an American ex-air "hostess" named Ruby whom his father has known all of six weeks. As round a peg as you could find in this square holed society, Ruby (Emily Watson) ridicules the petty snobbery of the restless colonials whose chief amusements are gin, adultery, and their foppish slang of "toodle-pip" and "hobbly-jobbly" - that Ruby identifies as sounding like "Wah-Wah." Although Ralph is initially wary of Ruby, he bonds with her as his father's drinking escalates and becomes dangerously out of control. It's this chaos that stokes Ralph's inner turmoil, and eventually forges his creative mind. --© Roadside Attractions [More]

Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson, Julie Waters

Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson, Julie Waters, Nicholas Hoult, Celia Imrie

Director: Richard E. Grant

Director: Richard E. Grant
Screenwriter: Richard E. Grant
Producer: Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
Composer: Patrick Doyle
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

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Reviews for Wah-Wah

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
06/03/06
Andrew Pulver
Andrew Pulver
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An unforced, engaging and surprisingly incisive account of the disintegration of British rule in Africa.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/02/06
David Hughes
David Hughes
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gabriel Byrne gives a great performance as Ralph’s troubled father, Harry, and Miranda Richardson and Emily Watson are enjoyable as Harry’s wife and American lover.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/01/06
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Engaging, deeply personal film with strong performances and impressive cinematography - this is an assured debut by Grant.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/01/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The only feeling it successfully provokes is annoyance. By the time it's over, you feel like slapping some sense into the lot of them.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
05/23/06
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a remarkable ode to both an imperfect father and an emerging nation.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
05/06/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

After watching his directorial debut, Wah-Wah, I'd like [Richard] Grant to stay in front of the camera.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
09/17/07
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical

Grant has crafted a handsome period piece that never betrays his first-timer status.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/22/07
Kevin Lally
Kevin Lally
Film Journal International

While this is clearly a very personal film for Grant, and he seems to want to tackle some serious issues, his vision is too clouded by nostalgia to be truly compelling.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
07/06/06
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/01/06
Sydney Morning Herald

Grant is an impressively assured filmmaker, especially for a first-timer.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
06/30/06
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Only occasionally successful . . .

Full Review Source: SA Movie & DVD Magazine | comment Comment
06/29/06
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
SA Movie & DVD Magazine

Wah-Wah is never less than good but it's also never quite great.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
06/24/06
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Full of too much blah, blah. And way too much of the shrill, shrieking, screaming, carrying-on variety.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
06/23/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The lush African setting sets this coming-of-age saga apart - it's too bad Grant didn't use it for more than picture-postcard backdrops.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
06/23/06
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Ralph's life, at least as it's presented here, isn't all that interesting, and Grant fails to elevate the ordinary into anything more than that.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
06/16/06
Paul Doro
Paul Doro
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I admired the movie and was happy to see it but can think of two other films about whites in Africa that do a better job of seeing their roles.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
06/16/06
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I admire how Grant's writing and direction take Africa for granted (pardon the pun) in the sense that we are spared longing long shots of landscapes and similar signs of awestruck filmmaking. It's is the real thing, no wah-wah about it.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/15/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
 
 
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