THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL BUT CAME DOWN A MOUNTAIN (1995) **1/2 It's not unusual for Hugh Grant to play the bewildered Englishman chasing the path of least resistance with a certain stifled desperation (in fact, it's apparently the only role he can play), but he's never played it so well. He plays it so emphatically-stammering his way into situations where only a bumblehead could dwell-that you can't help believing that there may even be some hidden qualities within the chrysalis that dares not cry out anything offensive. That being the case, Tara Fitzgerald seems a fine match-even if he never gets better she's probably not bright enough to ever make the distinction between "desperado of dullness" and "gentleman." Christopher Monger offers reasonably interesting shots (the pub, the lanterns, the village) with a flawless sense of timing, creating the cinematic illusion/reality that things of interest are occurring at a rural gait. The dialectic between Colm Meaney (as The Goat) and Kenneth Griffith (as The Preacher) isn't as primary as the charm of Grant, but it does amplify everything in the light of its classy (as opposed to class) conflict. Mr Monger develops the contrast between the Welsh and English with a few telling, perfectly placed lines. I only wish that they'd been drinking Brain's ale. Hooray for pointless, but unifying, campaigns! (so they're not pointless a-tawl, are they?)
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