Domhnall Gleeson (Ex-Machina) has been working constantly since 2013, with his hit starring role in Richard Curtis’s About Time shooting the actor to stardom. Since then, he has worked on a number of high profile films such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, American Made and the Academy Award winning The Revenant. For the first time, though, it looks like he could be in contention for an Academy Award nomination with Goodbye Christopher Robin.
The film is a biopic of the author A.A Milne, the man who gave the world and kids especially the famous character Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends. At the time he created Winnie the Pooh, A.A Milne was still suffering from PTSD after fighting in the first world war. It was his son’s love and imagination that inspired the characters and stories which ultimately gave A.A Milne a new lease on life.
Co-starring with Domhnall is Margot Robbie (Suicide Sqaud), who is one of the most sought after actress working at the moment. From the trailer below it looks like this film could be an Academy Award favourite in Best Picture and Lead Actor, and it wouldn’t be a shock if Margot Robbie grabbed a nomination as well. Although, the Tonya Harding biopic that she’s starring in called I,Tonya is currently gaining rave reviews and could be Margot Robbie’s best shot of an Academy Award next year.
Release Date
The Goodbye Christopher Robin UK release date is due on the 29th September 2017. It will compete with other films like the Flatliners remake that stars Ellen Page and the comedy film Home Again starring Reese Witherspoon, both of which are out in the UK on the same weekend.
Story
The premise of the film revolves around the creation of the character Winnie The Pooh by A.A Milne and where the inspiration behind the stories came from; his son Christopher Robin Milne. These children’s books were written by A.A Milne after the First World War to try and combat the dreary feeling in Great Britain after the fighting had finished.
The latest trailer suggests that a main part of the film will show A.A Milne’s battle with keeping a balance in his professional writing life and that of the relationship with his wife and son. All the while he continues to battle the symptoms of PTSD from his time at the front.
Cast
The film stars Domhnall Gleeson in the lead role as A.A Milne, who has shown his skill in previous films to be able to pull off a great performance playing the much loved author. Supporting Gleeson is Margot Robbie, fresh from her antics in Suicide Squad and with plenty of projects lined up including a Joker and Harley Quinn centered film for DC and Warner Brothers. She’s also currently filming the movie Mary Queen of Scots where she will play Queen Elizabeth I.
Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, Brave) plays another supporting character and appears to be a maid or housekeeper for Gleeson’s character. She provides some of the most emotional dialogue from the trailer, whilst mostly interacting with A.A Milne’s son Christopher who is played by newcomer Will Tilston.
Age rating
The film has been given an age rating of PG by the BBFC with mild war violence.
Production
Goodbye Christopher Robin was filmed primarily in the UK with Simon Curtis in the director’s chair and Steve Christian and Damian Jones producing. Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Simon Vaughn have written the screenplay, and Ben Smithard provided his expertise as the director of photography. The film was edited by Victoria Boydell and David Roger was the production designer. You can see more from the production on the Fox Searchlight Facebook page.
First Impressions
Domhnall Gleeson is currently on an all time high with the roles he’s being offered and his performances never disappoint. It doesn’t look like Goodbye Christopher Robin is going to be a ground breaking film that sweeps the Academy Award categories, however it does appear like a film that could immerse you into it’s 1920’s setting.
From the trailer, it really doesn’t show much of Margot Robbie’s character, so fans hoping to get a large dose of the Australian actress could be left disappointed. However, it’s a short trailer with relatively few cast members featured, so she may well be more integral than it appears.
