Wah-Wah (2006)

52% of critics liked it
(67 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(18,987 ratings)

Actor and author Richard E. Grant made his directorial debut with this period comedy drama inspired by his own experiences growing up in colonial Africa in the sixties. Ralph Compton (Zachary Fox) is the 11-year old son of Harry (Gabriel Byrne), the minister of education in the British-controlled… More Actor and author Richard E. Grant made his directorial debut with this period comedy drama inspired by his own experiences growing up in colonial Africa in the sixties. Ralph Compton (Zachary Fox) is the 11-year old son of Harry (Gabriel Byrne), the minister of education in the British-controlled African nation of Swaziland. While Harry is a likeable and well-connected man, his marriage to Lauren (Miranda Richardson) is on shaky ground, and when he learns she's been having an affair with one of his best friends, she leaves him and he begins drinking heavily. Harry sends Ralph to boarding school when things start to get unpleasant, and after two years he returns home to discover that some changes have been made. Ralph (now played by Nicholas Hoult) finds that his father is still drinking, but seems a more relaxed and better adjusted man -- and has just remarried, having tied the knot with Ruby (Emily Watson), a former stewardess from America. Ralph naturally resists Ruby's presence in the house, but the two become close, as Ruby indicates that she understands Ralph better than anyone else (and he senses the same). Meanwhile, the British start to withdraw from Swaziland. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr.
Directed By: Richard E. Grant
Written By: Richard E. Grant
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 15, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Nov 21, 2006
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I admired the movie and was happy to see it but can think of two other films about whites in Africa that do a better job of seeing their roles.
Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune
Watching it is like trying to assemble a puzzle that's missing pieces: You can see the outline of a story, and some shapes fit neatly together, but there are undeniable holes.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Deftly balancing the end of British colonialism in Africa against a family's painful disintegration, Wah-Wah marks the impressive directing debut of Richard E. Grant.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
What is understandably a subject of great fascination to [Grant] soon becomes a crashing bore to us.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
The characters may be based on real people, but they fail to spring to life onscreen. As a result, their histrionics often are laughable, like the over-the-top shenanigans in a Douglas Sirk melodrama.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What the movie lacks in depth -- it's really little more than a glimpse of this boy and these people in this place at this time -- it makes up for in its well-observed details and sneaky humor.
Christopher Campbell, Cinematical
After watching his directorial debut, Wah-Wah, I'd like [Richard] Grant to stay in front of the camera.
Kevin Lally, Film Journal International
Grant has crafted a handsome period piece that never betrays his first-timer status.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
While this is clearly a very personal film for Grant, and he seems to want to tackle some serious issues, his vision is too clouded by nostalgia to be truly compelling.
Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Grant is an impressively assured filmmaker, especially for a first-timer.
James O'Ehley, SA Movie & DVD Magazine
Only occasionally successful . . .
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
Wah-Wah is never less than good but it's also never quite great.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Full of too much blah, blah. And way too much of the shrill, shrieking, screaming, carrying-on variety.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
The lush African setting sets this coming-of-age saga apart - it's too bad Grant didn't use it for more than picture-postcard backdrops.
Paul Doro, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ralph's life, at least as it's presented here, isn't all that interesting, and Grant fails to elevate the ordinary into anything more than that.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
I admire how Grant's writing and direction take Africa for granted (pardon the pun) in the sense that we are spared longing long shots of landscapes and similar signs of awestruck filmmaking. It's is the real thing, no wah-wah about it.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
Rare is the honest labor of love that doesn't have some redeeming value, and Wah-Wah ultimately wins you over with its sincerity.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Sentimental and well meaning, the first writing/directing credit for Richard E.Grant (a favorite actor of mine) and auto-biographical as well. The damned Brits are losing their very last colonial holding as those that do the actual work of holding party like its the end of the world.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson, Nicholas Hoult, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Michael Richards, Julian Wadham, Fenella Woolgar, Ian Roberts Director: Richard E. Grant Summary: In his directing debut, Richard E. Grant dishes up a slice of his Swaziland… More
Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson, Nicholas Hoult, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Michael Richards, Julian Wadham, Fenella Woolgar, Ian Roberts Director: Richard E. Grant Summary: In his directing debut, Richard E. Grant dishes up a slice of his Swaziland boyhood. As the sun sets on Britain's colony, young Ralph Compton (played by Zachary Fox and later Nicholas Hoult) catches his mom, Lauren (Miranda Richardson), in a compromising position -- sending his dad, Harry (Gabriel Byrne), crawling into a bottle. The couple divorces and Harry remarries, but just as Ralph warms to his stepmom, Lauren turns up to reclaim her family. My Thoughts: "This semi-autobiographical story set in his birthplace of Swaziland is a raw and honest look into the life of Richard E. Grant as a boy dealing with the separation of his parents and his father's habit with alcohol. The movie gives you an honest look at what it's like to live with an alcoholic and how it affects the family. You feel a lot of sympathy for Ralph as you witness with him the separation of his parents and his father's downfall with alcohol. His step-mom Ruby brings some light to his dark world. The film is listed as a comedy, and although there are some funny parts, I would label this as more a dark drama. The film is filled with very interesting character's that really make the film great. With a great story, acting, and direction, it makes this film one to see."
Ginny

A wonderfully strong ensemble, the story however, is quite complex. There was just too many things that happened, perhaps Richard Grant just threw in a bit too much in this? I loved the mini pockets of treats they placed in the movie though, (Clips from The Clockwork Orange & the… More
A wonderfully strong ensemble, the story however, is quite complex. There was just too many things that happened, perhaps Richard Grant just threw in a bit too much in this? I loved the mini pockets of treats they placed in the movie though, (Clips from The Clockwork Orange & the mini screenplay practices of Camelot). The story is almost made to get you into a "steady emotional wave", from calm to heart piercing and to heart warming and back again. Plot: "Set during the last gasp of the British Empire in Swaziland, South East Africa, in 1969, the plot focuses on the dysfunctional Compton family whose gradual disintegration mirrors the end of British rule." Starring Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Julie Walters, Emily Watson, and Nicholas Hoult (the kid in 'About a boy'). --- "Wah-Wah is loosely based on Richard Grants (the Directors) own childhood experiences..." or so he says. Genre: Drama Side-comment: Perhaps this is a film thats not for everyones liking. I liked it though
Shauna R

Interesting film to watch, with an excellent cast. Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Julie Waters and the young Nicholas Hoult. I was very impressed with Richard E. Grant's writing and directing skills, and was astonished that this was the story of his childhood. Even with it's… More
Interesting film to watch, with an excellent cast. Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Julie Waters and the young Nicholas Hoult. I was very impressed with Richard E. Grant's writing and directing skills, and was astonished that this was the story of his childhood. Even with it's flaws, it was still a very entertaining film to sit through.
Steve B

Richard E. Grant's directorial debut is an autobiographical account of his youth in Swaziland in the early 70s. While it's well-made -- the performances and Grant's direction are faultless -- it was missing something when it came to character motivation. Still a great… More
Richard E. Grant's directorial debut is an autobiographical account of his youth in Swaziland in the early 70s. While it's well-made -- the performances and Grant's direction are faultless -- it was missing something when it came to character motivation. Still a great film and an excellent debut.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Wah-Wah" starts with 12-year old Ralph(Zachary Fox) watching his mother(Miranda Richardson) getting hot and heavy with a man(Ian Roberts) who is not Ralph's father(Gabriel Byrne), a colonial education officer, from the back seat of a car in 1969 in… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Wah-Wah" starts with 12-year old Ralph(Zachary Fox) watching his mother(Miranda Richardson) getting hot and heavy with a man(Ian Roberts) who is not Ralph's father(Gabriel Byrne), a colonial education officer, from the back seat of a car in 1969 in Swaziland, South East Africa. Later, she makes things official by packing her bags and leaving the premises. Ralph can no longer stand to be in the company of his father, and leaves for the greener pastures of boarding school...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]...two years later, Ralph(Nicholas Hoult) returns to discover that his father has married Ruby(Emily Watson), an American ex-stewardess, after only knowing each other six weeks.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Richard E. Grant, "Wah-Wah" is an inconsistent and uneven movie that veers dangerously from soap opera to broad comedy and back again. It is set as Swaziland is gaining its long overdue independence from Great Britain and hopefully they never again have to deal with the colonials whose main pastimes are drinking, fornication, cricket and musical theatre.(Like "White Mischief," "Wah-Wah" somehow manages to make decadence boring.) That having been said, the film's sympathy is somehow on the side of the English instead of the natives. All of which is partially redeemed by another grand performance from Emily Watson, even if she is playing the stereotypical brash American opposite reserved English.(A la "Shadowlands.") Oh well, I do suppose I cannot be picky about what movies Miranda Richardson appears in nowadays... [/font]
David S

A competently made film from Grant with some good performances, especially from Watson and Byrne but this feels just too personal to make it an entertaining view. There is very little humour involved until the Camelot production near the end and by that point it's too late.… More
A competently made film from Grant with some good performances, especially from Watson and Byrne but this feels just too personal to make it an entertaining view. There is very little humour involved until the Camelot production near the end and by that point it's too late. Although we're expected to sympathise with Bryne's character we aren't given enough time to see the warm father before he becomes the raging drunk and therefore it's difficult to care and the film feels a little unrelenting. Having read the book it's also clear to see where some of the budget and time issues affected the overall look of the film, especially in the shooting scene which is lacking one or two shots that will make it work. I hope Grant gets to direct again as he obviously has a good eye and can eleicit performances from his actors but it would need to be a less personal project next time.