The Fool

The Fool is a Costume Drama and Satire about Financial Skull-Duggery, and Confidence Tricksters in both the Upper and Lower Classes in Victorian London. A working class man impersonates a Lord who is supposedly very rich, and a financial wizard. As such, he is invited to all the best peoples' parties. In fact, he is not, and his wealth and expertise are more in the minds of his associates than in reality. Interestingly, despite the large social gap between the two classes, there are many similarities in what goes on in both within this story. This can be seen as the main character switches back and forth between his charade as a peer, and his real self.

An extraordinary film from Christine Edzard, who also directed Little Dorrit. The film has an atmospheric, almost Dickensian ambience. Jacobi is superb, underplaying his dual roles while clearly establishing two different characters. The supporting cast, especially Cyril Cusack, is also--forgive the repetition--superb. The subtle social satire regarding the haves' attitudes toward the have not's (and vice versa), is clearly relevant today.

Review Courtesy of Sir Neville Cawas Cyrus Bardoliwalla OBE