Topsy-Turvy review

The premise sounds, frankly, about as back to front as the subject matter in question - director Mike Leigh taking on a period comedy of real-life figures - with musical production numbers in it?

But here it is, a lavish, critically-acclaimed and rather polished account of Gilbert and Sullivan, the comic opera composers without whom Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice would probably never have existed.

And it's currently receiving the sort of Academy mutterings that Leigh's Secrets And Lies received in 1997 before coming away with a big fat nothing on Oscar night - can the director possibly be so ignored again?

As a heatwave assails 1880s London, Princess Ida becomes the first major theatrical venture of William Schwenck Gilbert (Jim Broadbent) and Arthur Sullivan (Allan Corduner) to flop at the Savoy Theatre. Sullivan has had enough and wants to go serious, to set time aside to create his opus and become the sort of British heavyweight composer that the orchestras are crying out for.

But the pair are contracted to the Savoy and, although a convivial boss, Richard D'Oyly Carte (Ron Cook) will permit no welching on the legal agreement, causing no small tension between Gilbert and Sullivan. For whatever wordsmith Gilbert creates, Sullivan remains wearily uninspired and even a rejuvenating trip to France cannot improve his mood.

But then Lucy `Kitty' Gilbert (Lesley Manville) drags her husband along to a Japanese exhibition and seeds are sown. Seeds which will flood new enthusiasm through the parched partnership. Seeds which will eventually emerge as The Mikado, one of their greatest triumphs.

This, however, is so much more than the making of the Mikado and Leigh's fascination with human character, in all its complex variety, influences the entire tone and direction of the film.

Yes, there are rehearsals and whole slabs of Gilbert and Sullivan's work rendered with faithful artistry on to the screen, but it's more than obvious that the men themselves are at the centre of this rich but overlong drama.

Questions such as what made this chalk-and-cheese duo tick?, their relationships with their significant others, their different creative styles and attitudes in coaxing a play from mere words and notes on a page, are all answered.

And by the time you leave their company, the two leads will have you convinced you know them intimately with Corduner's Sullivan a warm, effusive and charming presence and Broadbent's Gilbert a dry, articulate artist nagged by self doubt and restricted by English starch.

Some more ruthless trimming could have made this an easier watch, but to his credit, Leigh's devotion to his highly talented ensemble means that even those in minor roles are granted ample screen time to show well.

A sensitive, involved picture overall, thick with detail and careful, acute observation. Although not a film for the casual viewer, it is a treat for fans of Leigh, Gilbert and Sullivan, period frockery and Brit flicks.