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'Wah-Wah': By any name, a well-acted tale
by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie

"Wah-Wah," the odd-sounding title of actor-turned-director Richard E. Grant's feature debut, has nothing to do with Helen Keller or "The Miracle Worker." It's a term coined by brash American former stewardess Ruby Compton (Emily Watson) for the sort of silly prattle — "the snooty baby talk" — spoken by a bunch of snobby Brits living the colonial life in Swaziland in the late 1960s. "Toodle-doo. Pip, pip, pip," she snorts. "It's all a lot of wah-wah to me." Read the full review

TO SUM UP
The dysfunctional Compton family's gradual disintegration mirrors the end of British rule in Swaziland, South East Africa, during the last gasp of the British Empire in 1959.

FILM FACTS ...

Samuel Goldwyn Films

'Wah-Wah'

Director: Richard E. Grant
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Nicholas Hoult, Emily Watson, Julie Walters
Run time: 99 minutes
Release date: May 12, 2006
Rating: R for some language and brief sexuality.
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On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

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READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B
"The acting is across-the-board excellent..."

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Austin American-Statesman: 2 of 5 stars
"(Director Richard) Grant is generous to his fine cast, but few characters are fleshed out enough for us to care about them and the story itself is nothing new."

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The Palm Beach Post: B+
"Like many actors who go behind the camera, director Richard Grant gets some first-rate performances from his cast, notably Gabriel Byrne and Emily Watson."