Mr. Burton

2025

2h 4m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

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Drama

In the Welsh town of Port Talbot, 1942, Richard Jenkins lives as a wayward schoolboy, caught between the pressures of his struggling family, a devastating war and his own ambitions. However, a new opportunity arises when Richard’s natural talent for drama catches the attention of his teacher, Philip Burton.

Directors

Marc Evans

Writers

Tom Bullough(writer by)

Josh Hyams(writer by)

Stars

Toby Jones

Lesley Manville

Harry Lawtey

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Photos8

Top cast

Philip Burton

Ma Smith

Richard Jenkins Jr.

Cecilia 'Cis' Jenkins

Eifed James

Dic Jenkins

Phyllis Dolan

Evans

Morgan

Mr David

Rhianon

Marian

Betty

Co-op Manager

Baynham

Governor

Headmster

Mrs Meredith

Directors

Marc Evans

Writers

Tom Bullough(writer by)

Josh Hyams(writer by)

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Review

Featured review

7/10

Despite being a bit lop-sided, this is still quite a poignant story of the young Richard Jenkins (Harry Lawtey) who has been living with his elder sister and her husband since his mother died whilst he was an infant. His dad (Steffan Rhodri) worked hard down the mines then boozed hard afterwards, and so the young lad was largely neglected by him as he grew to curious manhood. He was interested at school, liked to read and sing and play rugby - and that attracted the attention of his teacher Burton (Toby Jones). He was a scholarly man, but a frustrated Thesp, who had lodged for many a year with the widowed “Ma” (Lesley Manville) and wrote scripts for BBC Radio. It was this latter man’s determination to get his young protégé to focus, knuckle down and learn how to say “here” properly that serves as the thrust of the plot here and allows both Jones and the impressive Lawtey to give us not just an illustration of Burton’s conflict and potential, but also a glimpse into just how valued education was at a time when families lived on the poverty line and working at the pit from an early age was a necessity that made schooling a luxury. It takes a few liberties with the facts of their relationship and sows some suggestive seeds about what might have driven both men, but for the most part it’s an interesting character study of a troubled man who quite possibly didn’t know how to be loved. The conclusion is all a bit rushed, we do jump ahead quite substantially in the last ten minutes and those missing years do rather leave a gap in his transition from geeky student to Stratford celebrity, but with a generous contribution from Manville to help guide us through this turbulent period for him, his teacher and his country this is at the better end of television biopics, and with Lawtey acting rather than trying to mimic the original, is worth a watch.

Geronimo196714 Apr, 2025