C4C | THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL...

CAPSULE REVIEW –– Grant puts his bumbling charm to good use in this small town vs. the mountain affair. Released in between his two bigger successes – FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and SENSE & SENSIBILITY – this film is greatly helped by his charisma and comic timing. The plot centers on the arrival of two English surveyors to a tiny Wales hamlet come to measure their local mountain. Their presence is initially met with great excitement by the locals who generally have nothing more to do than wait for the war (WWI) to end. The townspeople are thrilled their mountain is going to make it on the map. Unfortunately their pleasure quickly turns to horror when their towering hill fails to measure up. What ensues is a classic comedy of errors as the townspeople put aside their differences to ensure the future glory of their town and mountain. They do everything in their power to keep the surveyors in town while making a mountain out of a hill. In the course of the endeavor, some find love, some redemption and one freedom from fear. It's a quaint, heart-warming story that's both funny and inspirational. It's also supposedly true, if that means anything. Meaney makes the most of his role as the town ne'er-do-well, complementing Grant's uptightness perfectly. A pleasant cinema experience, if not exactly overly memorable.