A Sense of History

The aristocracy façade crumbles as Jim Broadbent walks us through the story of The 23rd Earl of Leete. 

Mike Leigh, making a departure from directing his own material, understatedly captures Jim Broadbent’s biting social commentary. Athena-51 posted on IMDb that A Senseof History was “ingeniously crafted with Jim Broadbent entrapping me perfectly in his web.”  I too was caught up and for a moment forgot that it was a spoof of the politics of the times. This pointed approach is much more effective than an all out rant or broad satire. Broadbent, standing in the frigid water reenacting a moment in his past, will stay with me forever.

The Earl of Leete defending his support of Hitler reminded me of The Remains of the Day and the dilemma the butler had with his employer’s loyalties. He said, "Lord Darlington wasn't a bad man. He wasn't a bad man at all. And at least he had the privilege of being able to say at the end of his life that he made his own mistakes. His lordship was a courageous man. He chose a certain path in life, it proved to be a misguided one, but there, he chose it, he can say that at least. As for myself, I cannot even claim that. You see, I trusted. I trusted in his lordship's wisdom. All those years I served him, I trusted I was doing something worthwhile. I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?" 

While The Remains of the Day uses this quiet, fatalistic, detached dialogue to create a sense of history, A Sense of History uses it as a wakeup call by infuriating the audience.