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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:22
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Offbeat, whimsical, period-set shaggy dog story with daffy performances from Sam Neill and Peter O’Toole.
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Nov 30, 1999 Wide
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam, Brian Brown
Director: Toa Fraser
In Dean Spanley Peter O’Toole, luminous of eye and loopy of intonation, acts as if he should be locked up. You have to admire the cut of his lunacy. He brings what little style there is to this winsome tale adapted from Lord Dunsany.
This is a charming and eccentric little family comedy for the older generation. It's like a Werther's Original sweet that's for grandpa only.
I can’t see too many children taking advantage of the U certificate. The measured performances look stiff and theatrical. A stifling fable with the rhythm of a grandfather clock.
Truly original and very moving, with a hypnotic and elliptical quality all its own.
The word offbeat doesnt quite cover it and its a touchslow to begin with but, really, if you dont fancy having your soul crushed byKeanu and co, do check this one out. Funny, warm and sensitive,its got gem written all over it.
A charming, unique film, well crafted and boasting some great performances, notably from the spry Peter O'Toole.
This nicely acted drama, in quietly intimating the quirky familial relations and peculiar fascinations of the era – not least with the transmigration of souls, mysticism and the supernatural – delivers a highly pleasurable if modest experience.
It's a talky, narrowly focused piece that feels like an after-dinner anecdote presented with the full ceremony of a formal meal.
Top CriticFraser and Sharp have structured the film, and the cast interpret it, so that comedy and poignancy are intertwined to the last; even as all is revealed, a sense of wonder remains.
A dull and thoroughly stilly British drama based on the idea of canine reincarnation.
Top CriticA wondrous story about cats and dogs, fathers and sons and the elusive bottle of Hungarian Imperial Tokay that brings them all together, Dean Spanley is a rather special
A redemptive arc leashes the threads together, hinged on insights into familial repression that are a tad too costumedrama-stifled for their own good.
This is really a shaggy dog story that takes too long to start barking. But when it does, it works a treat. It’s amazing how much you can forgive if the last part of a movie is right, and this one covers itself in something like glory in the nick of time.
While Neill gives a masterclass in subtle eccentricity and Northam and Brown happily play second string, the theatricals are wisely left to legendary virtuoso O’Toole.
...the final reel packs far more of an emotional wallop that one could've possibly anticipated (it's just too bad about that first hour, however).
Elegantly played, wittily delivered, lost at Christmas.
This whimsical tale, based on a short story by Lord Dunsany, has moving undercurrents of loss and grief and in underplaying his role, Peter O'Toole brings a beautiful sense of reconciliation to his character.
The only drawback to its fey shaggy-dog story is the ponderous pace. But Northam and Neill are both on good form.
I loved it.
Dean Spanley, adapted from a shaggy-dog tale by Lord Dunsany, is a decidedly odd business, a rummage in mothballed obscurantism for its own sake.
January 29, 2008:
Exclusive: RT Visits the Set of Dean Spanley
We take a trip to Holkam Hall in Norfolk, England to talk the transmigration of souls with Peter O'Toole and Sam Neill. More...
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