Quickie Cake Eater Movie Review

I shot off to the movies tonight and saw The Worlds' Fastest Indian which is postively delightful. It's well worth the eight bucks.

A more complete---and not quite so quickie---pontification after the jump.

Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Burt Munro, a Kiwi pensioner who spends his time annoying his neighbors by not mowing the lawn on his property in favor of inventively tweaking his 1920 Indian "motorsickle." Burt's dream is to have his bike timed at the Bonneville Salt Flats---half a world away from Invercargill, New Zealand---and when a heart condition comes into the picture, he realizes it's time to get going on fulfilling said dream. Through quite a bit of luck and goodwill, he manages to get to the flats only to find out that he won't be able to test his bike because the powers that be declare, in their infinite wisdom, that it's not quite safe. Burt eventually triumphs, but that's not really the point---this movie is all about the journey, and a delightful one it is, too.

Sir Anthony is, as usual, fantastic. I don't know that I've ever seen him play a character who has less to hide than Burt. Burt is a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy, and in the hands of a less-skilled actor than Anthony Hopkins, Burt would have been booooooring---with a capital 'B'----his dreams of owning the World's Fastest Indian notwithstanding. But, fortunately for Burt, Anthony Hopkins is a master craftsman and knows what the hell he's doing. In his hands, Burt is the weird guy who lives down the street that you've never really known and have mainly avoided, but now, through a weird twist of fate, are getting to know---and you know what?---he's absolutely fascinating.

It's amazing how little recognition Sir Anthony is getting for this role because it's completely against type for him. There are no layers to this character. There is no great moment of revelation. There is no chianti and fava beans. He plays the guy for who he was: an slightly kooky old dude with a tweaked-out bike, which is all the job called for and he did the job very well. But I suppose if the world recognizes---and lauds---you for playing Hannibal the Cannibal, playing normal Burt Munro isn't really going to impress anyone.

Which is a bloody shame, if you ask me, because he really is quite wonderful.