More Tom Wilkinson

Tom Wilkinson Part 3

Perhaps you thought I was done with Tom Wilkinson after two articles. Nope. There’s actually lots more. Boy, could he pick his spots!

The Ghost Writer (2010) features Ewan McGregor as the unnamed title man hired to write the biography of a former British Prime Minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). Complications involve shady dealings by the subject and the gradual revealing of Harvard Law Professor Paul Emmett (Wilkinson) as a clandestine CIA agent, inextricably tied to the people in the life of Lang and his family. Does the ghost writer find out too much? Watch and find out!

In The Conspirator (2010), Mary Suratt is accused of being among the conspirators to assassinate President Lincoln. Her defense is first attempted by former Attorney General Reverdy Johnson (Wilkinson), but he believes he cannot do justice to her defense because he is from the South. He convinces young attorney Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) to take over her defense. He reluctantly does so, and eventually believes she is innocent. Not giving away any more.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) is just a really good time at the movies! It stars Dev Patel (from Slumdog Millionaire) as the proprietor of a run-down hotel in India. His advertisements lure several upper crust Brits to decide this is the place to retire to. Tom Wilkinson is a retired judge and one of the residents. Also on board are Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Bill Nighy. While the Brits quickly discover the hotel is not as advertised, they decide to stick it out and adventures ensue.

Does Tom Wilkinson look one bit like LBJ? Nope, but in Selma (2014) he will convince you that he is LBJ in this film about that famous march across that famous bridge. Pretty historically accurate, this movie portrays that bit of history quite well. With a lot of cast members you never heard of, it convinces us that Dr. King was both brave and prescient about this iconic moment.

The Catcher Was A Spy (2018) is not as good as it should have been. Moe Berg, a journeyman major league catcher, uses his trips to Japan and Germany to spy for the OSS (now CIA). He provides valuable information to the United States about war preparations, locations and munitions as he barnstorms with his team. Tom Wilkinson has an admittedly small role in this one as Paul Schrerrer, one of the many contacts Berg uses to help the war effort.

All of the films in this article are for grown-ups. You can actually find most of them somewhere if you want to.