MOVIE REVIEW - Hyde Park On Hudson

Try this on for size.   There is a new 94 minute movie out that stars Bill Murray as President Franklyn D. Roosevelt.   Hyde Park On Hudson.  You heard me right...Bill Murray!

This is based on the notes and diaries discovered after Margaret Suckleys's death in 1991.  She was a distant cousin to the former president and she was also one of his mistresses.  And there were many.  But she kept her secrets all those years.

It was a different time, and that is the main point of this little independent movie.  There were so many secrets around the president in those days.  Most of the nation did not know that FDR had polio and could not walk.  No one really knew that he and his strong, and determined wife Eleanor had little use for each other.  And certainly, no one knew (except Eleanor) that he had all these lovers right under her nose.  This movie takes place over a few year period, and really focuses on the historic weekend in 1939 when King George and wife came to Hyde Park (Roosevelts country home) to ask for the United States help on the brink of World War II.

This is a small, charming movie that is really a movie goers movie.  This is a real nice alternative and escape from the big budget action flicks currently filling theaters.  This also has an older adult feel to it. History buffs will get a kick out of seeing Roosevelt in a light not normally seen.  Bill Murray is flat out great and very believable as FDR.   He looks amazingly like him, and clearly studied him intently preparing for this role.   There is nothing "Bill Murray-ey" about this performance.  It is a role very well done.  Brave casting really paid off.

Laura Linney plays Daisey (Suckley) and much of this is told through her eyes, with her narrating much of it.  They are surrounded by a nice, but little known cast that support them very well. Overall, this is a real interesting movie.   It's quick and tidy, and doesn't belabor the point.  It has a little story to tell, tells it and moves on.  It even feels like a video diary.  Its a nice mix of real emotion, and a spritz of humor throughout. 

Hyde Park On Hudson.  Quaint, charming, and a very nice little movie.  Clearly, not for everyone but a nice distraction. Well done.