The film revolves around a diverse drama inspired by a successful play, about the old actor 'Al Sir'. The movie tells the story of this man with his candid, exemplary designer Norman.
It is, it really is, just as magnificent, powerful and enthralling as you would imagine. Yet to assume the greatness of The Dresser based on the simply sum of its parts is to miss the whole point of the story.
When a production features Ian McKellen, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Watson, and Sarah Lancashire from Happy Valley, great expectations are quite in order. I was not disappointed.
While The Dresser may have ups and downs in its narrative, there's no denying that Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian McKellen deliver stunning performances that alone make the film worth seeing.
Seeing these actors together is wonderful. If there is an edge, it goes to Mr. McKellen, whose scurrying, effeminate Norman is a study in subordination and repressed emotion.
The crisp bite of Harwood's lines (goosed here and there by snippets of Shakespeare) and the vigorous enthusiasm of Hopkins and McKellen give The Dresser an engaging passion.
Of course, it's a showcase of great acting, as you would expect, but The Dresser is also a well-tailored play enriched by layers of metaphor and irony.
The Dresser rises and falls on the strength of its central duo, and it's hard to imagine two currently working actors who could rival Courtenay and Finney as well as McKellen and Hopkins do.
While the visual presentation of "The Dresser" may be somewhat lacking in sparks, it more than makes up for that with the undeniably fiery and entertaining turns from both Hopkins and McKellen.
It is deliciously funny and moving. It is also profoundly about why people perform and create art. And it is heartbreakingly accurate about actors and the theatre.
