To Olivia
To Olivia shows renowned author Roald Dahl (Hugh Bonneville) in a strikingly different light than most would know. It is a very simple, albeit mildly engaging, depiction of love and loss. The film opens with a boy by the name of Augustus stealing a peach from a large bowl set in the centre of the stage. We see Dahl seemingly very early in his career telling stories to an engrossed crowd of children and less than interested parents. Cut to his family life with wife Patricia Neal (Keeley Hawes), a young and beautiful actress, daughters Olivia (Darcy Ewart) and Tessa (Isabella Jonsson) and son Theo (Alfie Hardy). What looks like any happy family on the outside is breeding inner tension. The bills are piling up and Roald’s works aren’t bringing in the money needed.
Tragedy soon befalls the family and sets the tone for the rest of the film. Dahl’s behaviour becomes increasingly dark and borderline abusive. The audience sees two distinctly different reactions to an unbearable loss but with very little conviction in the depiction of either. While there is some redemption to the story, with Dahl finally being able to accept some criticism to his writing and Neal perhaps using this pain to improve her acting technique, the film as a whole leaves a likely deserved bitterness to Dahl’s memory.
Perhaps Dahl’s erratic behaviour shouldn’t come as such a surprise based on the chaos his writing is known for. There are little hints to the author's future stories throughout the film, whether it be Augustus’s gluttonous ways, Matilda the doll or Tessa’s comments on how gobstoppers never last long enough. The pacing of this film made the story feel much longer than its 94 minute runtime, dragging for the majority of the second half.
This issue may have come from the less than captivating plot points or could have been the delivery. It’s not clear whether it was the scripting or the portrayal but each piece of dialog felt stilted and at times awkward. With such agonising plot points, the film could have been holding the audience by the heartstrings. The setting, the tone and the depicted era had all the right ingredients to put together a classic British period drama, but To Olivia simply falls short.
With the opportunity to portray such powerful messages, it is disappointing that this film will likely soon be forgotten.
