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Albert Finney: Characters
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Born in Salford, the son of a Lancashire bookmaker in 1936, Albert Finney became a leader amongst a new generation of anti-heroic leading men in British films in the 1960s. These so-called 'kitchen sink dramas' were rather gloomy and depressing, but marked a move towards greater realism in character portrayal in films, after the Technicolor superficialities of the 1950s Hollywood film. Finney won a scholarship to RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) in 1956, where he met fellow students Alan Bates and Peter O'Toole.
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Albert Finney returns as H.E. Bates' curmudgeonly character in this "Masterpiece Theatre" series that follows the further misadventures of a 10-year-old boy and his rapscallion of an uncle during the early 1900s. 150 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; filmographies; biography; more.
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Finney is equally superb as Alfie Byrne, a friendly, middle-aged bus conductor in A Man of No Importance, set in early 1960s Dublin. Alfie, a bachelor, is obsessed with Oscar Wilde, and is intent upon mounting an amateur theatrical production of Salome. The key to the character is that he is a closeted homosexual, and has a crush on the young driver of his bus. Alfie lives in a society in which homosexuality is an "unspeakable sin." For this reason he not only has kept his sexual preference hidden but ... has never dared become involved in a sexual or romantic relationship of any kind. Finney is a joy to watch, especially as he confronts his feelings and laments that his "hands are innocent of affection." His Alfie is a gentle, poetic soul who, unfortunately, was destined to be born at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
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Ewan McGregor, who plays the young Edward Bloom in the upcoming fantasy film Big Fish, told SCI FI Wire that he shared the same physical and voice training as Albert Finney, who plays an older version of the same character. In the film, old Edward (Finney) tells stories of his youthful adventures, and McGregor enacts those flashbacks.
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