By the time Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, died at the age of just 29, he’d bankrupted his family. Its considerable fortune had been lavished on extravagant theatrical productions at the ancestral home on the North Wales island and Paget himself had indulged in the most luxurious of lifestyles without a second thought. Yet, for director Celyn Jones (The Almond And The Seahorse), that’s just one aspect of his story. In Madfabulous, he gives us the other side, one seen through 21st century eyes but which takes the audience behind what was regarded as scandalous behaviour to reveal something more than simply a profligate toff.
There’s no attempt to gloss over Paget’s ostentatious lifestyle or his unconventional marriage to cousin Lily (Jay Kelly’s Ruby Stokes) which, while celibate, isn’t short on affection. They’re portrayed as soulmates, sharing a zest for life, although over time her feelings for her husband seem to develop into something which would have been more acceptable to Edwardian society. His taste for opulence nearly ruins the local economy, yet the shopkeepers are ultimately very accepting of his devastating effect on their businesses and he was generous towards those regarded as misfits or outcasts. He’s generous to one of his maids, earning her undying loyalty and, when visited by the orphans from the local convent, informally adopts a black girl who everybody ignores. He has a huge heart and so does the film.
Madfabulous never allows the audience to forget that spirit, or its origins. Neglected by his father who shuns any communication from him, Paget regards himself as just as much a misfit as those that he takes under his wing. As exotic as the butterfly he embodies in his most famous dance, he’s also all too aware of his own shortcomings, especially when it comes to money. But his letters to his absent father begging for financial education are met with a stony silence and the approval he craves never comes. It gives Callum Scott Howells (It’s A Sin) a role to relish, one that’s both physical, especially in the elegance of that butterfly dance with its flowing fabrics, and deeply emotional when he eventually confronts his father. He rounds out Paget by giving him a childlike innocence and vulnerability that makes you want to protect him from the harsh realities of the outside world, especially those who disapprove of his behaviour.
By his side for the duration of the story is his devoted butler, Gelert, an orphan who has spent all his life in service. It’s an unusually reserved performance from Rupert Everett who, despite being often in the background, is a constant presence offering Paget something of a father figure. The strength of his loyalty rises to the surface in one startling moment when he throws social structure to the wind and inflicts a lingering death stare on one of his master’s enemies after a vicious insult. It’s the character’s – and Everett’s – finest hour in the film and speaks volumes for both of them. Aside from Paget and Gelert, and the spirited Lily, the rest of the characters are less convincingly drawn, with Paul Rhys needing a much bigger moustache to twirl as pantomime villain Lord Penrhyn, who has designs on Paget’s wife and money.
As a celebration of difference and being true to yourself, the film comes close to being both mad and fabulous. The glowing colours, gorgeous costumes and general extravagance give Madfabulous a luxurious visual appeal, especially when contrasted with the natural splendor of the North Wales landscape, but its greatest strength lies in its central character. Foolish at times and often wasteful, he has a heart bigger than the family fortune – around £200 million in today’s money – and that makes him the most appealing and unlikely of heroes.
★★★
At BFI Flare on March 26th and 29th. In cinemas from June 5th. / Callum Scott Howells, Ruby Stokes, Rupert Everett, Paul Rhys, Louise Brealey, Louis Hynes, Tom Rhys Harries / Dir: Celyn Jones / Icon Film Distribution / 12A
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