Wah-Wah

Written and directed by actor Richard E. Grant, the autobiographical Wah-Wah is an incisively observed, richly detailed, and beautifully-lensed coming-of-age portrait. Ralph Compton (Nicholas Hoult), a boy growing up in the British African colony of Swaziland in the years immediately preceding independence, has to contend with an alcoholic father (Gabriel Byrne), a bitterly unhappy mother (Miranda Richardson) who runs off with another man, and a young American stepmother (Emily Watson) with whom he has an initially hostile relationship. Wah-Wah is rather crowded with incident and characters, including members of the British administrative establishment, but being based on Grant's real-life experiences, the script manages to avoid the superficiality of so many domestic dramas, serving up complex and well-rounded leading characters who frequently act in surprising, even shocking, ways. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)