Anyone else out there actually buy a ticket to see Emily Watson wander morosely around a crumbling British army-bombarded Scottish manor house in her sturdy housekeeper's shoes, sensible seamed stockings and war widow's tweeds?
Sony Picture's The Waterhorse - Legend of the Deep certainly looked promising enough in all of the relevant trailers taken in briefly during inevitable endurance viewing of various other 'family' film offerings this past holiday season.
But there was something about the super-drippy title which put potential younger viewers off the notion of paying good pocket money to stand in line for a seat.
"How about the Waterhorse?" persisted this optimistic parental blogger, at least two or three times prior to the past month's several cinematic outings. Well, we were pretty much out of any other decent option for an age-appropriate group movie viewing this cold, rainy late Martin Luther King Day.
And offered the alternative of taking in something more educationally meaningful on the history channel at home, I finally talked at least two other members of the family into taking a pew for the nostalgic looking 'Nessie' flick.
Sumptuously Scottish in scenery and set, with gaggles of lovely little red-headed, freckle-faced Celtic kiddies tide pooling in their 1940s best of long socks and flannel shorts, checked shirts and heather-hued, hand knit sweaters, who could possibly complain of this ever-so warm and cozy cultural diversion?
I had been under the impression from trailers that this would be a fairly passive picture of adorable boy meets baby Loch Ness Monster and nurtures the critter secretly toward a sorrowful, gradual release into the wild waters of the North.
Much more of a touching tale in fact, with a thrilling plunge or two into the depths of Loch Ness, amidst an authentic, atmospheric military backdrop of original homeland security and several splendid character performances, including the animated talents of Caruso, the ideal Nessie substitute.
Sony slipped up with the name for the big screen crowd, but this sweetheart of a family movie should make it to a dvd player near you sometime in the next six months and is bound to be a hit with the hard to reach juvenile crowd who'd have been far more easily enticed to view at first release had it had a knuckle-head name such as Nessie the Bad-Ass Scottish Monster. http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thewaterhorse/
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