London Film Festival Hails the ‘Great Andrew Scott’ as ‘Elsinore’ Opens 70th Edition With Tears, Cheers and ‘The Ethel Merman Disco Album’

By Alex Ritman

Alex Ritman

Latest

• London Film Festival Hails the ‘Great Andrew Scott’ as ‘Elsinore’ Opens 70th Edition With Tears, Cheers and ‘The Ethel Merman Disco Album’ 24 minutes ago
• ‘In the Shadows’ Producers to Self-Release British Boxing Biopic Following Collapse of U.K. Distributor True Brit Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE) 10 hours ago
• Killer Films Boards Ray Panthaki’s Directorial Debut ‘In Starland’ as Feature Lands Tallinn World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 10 hours ago

The 70th BFI London Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday with the European premiere of “Elsinore,” a movie that, as the credits rolled, left large swathes of the audience at the Royal Festival Hall wiping away tears. But just moments later, as the name of lead star Andrew Scott appeared on stage, the loud snuffles were replaced with whoops and, in rather uncharacteristically British style, a standing ovation for the actor.

Directed by Simon Stone from a script by Simon Beresford, “Elsinore” — already expected to be among the awards season hopefuls — sees Scott portray famed Scottish actor and “Chariots of Fire” star Ian Charleson. In 1989, while already succumbing to complications from AIDS, Charleson replaced Daniel Day-Lewis in “Hamlet” at London’s National Theatre after the actor had walked off stage mid-performance, never to return to the production. Charleson received rave reviews, but died just seven weeks after bowing out.

Related Stories

Virender Sehwag's 'Rise & Fall' Season 2 Sets September Launch on Prime Video, Reveals First Four Contestants (EXCLUSIVE)