Inspired by the story of one of Wales more prolific and revered actors, seven time Academy Award nominee Richard Burton, Mr. Burton focuses on the incredible bond between a young Burton (Harry Lawtey) (who was born Richard Jenkins) and Phillip Burton (Toby Jones), a school teacher whose profound impact on Richard led him to live a life he would never have expected.
The specific focus on the relationship between Richard and Phillip allows two incredible performances from Toby Jones and Harry Lawtey to anchor the film. There is a true Burton-like gravitas that emerges so naturally from Lawtey, and is then juxtaposed by the stillness and patience of Jones’ take on Phillip Burton. The dynamic between the characters allows for a wide spectrum of emotion to be explored, one that is as loving and caring as it can be volatile.
Phillip Burton was the man who took a troubled teen with aspirations to become an actor, and taught him the vocabulary and cadence required to stand out at the time. With that comes an heir of seniority and heightened demeanour from Phillip that often serves as the emotionally clashing between him and Richard, whose lower class upbringing fuelled his volatile demeanour. Watching Jones and Lawtey play off of each other, so deeply ingrained in their characters, is one of the film’s most notable strengths.
The story, while having a strong, singular focus, also does feel quite dull by not exploring other aspects of Richard Burton’s life. The emotional investment into the characters is very slowly developed on the 2 hour runtime, and while there is substance to the performances, the substance in the narrative does lack a lot. The pacing is also affected by the drawn out nature of the narrative, especially when the film has this rollercoaster style of emotional navigation. Some of the more understated scenes have the most impact, while the grandiose moments that are intentionally pulled on the heartstrings fall flat.
Despite two strong lead performances, and the rich true story that is the foundation of this film, Mr Burton falls flat due to its dull pacing and singular focus that doesn’t fully allow for the emotional weight to hit as much as it could.
Mr Burton is in Australian cinemas August 14.
