This film tells the story of a man who dresses actors for a play in a theatre back in the second world war. He tries his hardest to convince the ailing lead actor to continue playing King Lear, and witnesses powerful human interactions along the way.It's remarkable that I haven't heard of "The Dresser" before, given the fact that it has heavyweight actors Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins. The film is a single location film, featuring only indoors of a theatre. There are times I wish I could see the sunshine or some plants and nature, as the colour scheme is all brown and dark. The story itself is slow, but very dialogue heavy. There was a time when I thought the film was about to end, it turned out that I have only been watching for thirty minutes! The film felt long and slightly tedious, but the ending makes up for it. It is certainly a night to remember for the actors of the theatre.

My goodness, you don't get better than this. Tony Hopkins and Ian McKellen are perfectly cast in this authentic feeling take on travelling theatre during the second world war. Ill and aged, 'Sir' has premonitions, Norman (the Dresser) is desperate to hang on to what little life he has as Sir's most trusted aide. Without his role he has nothing. Norman is so caught up in his own anxieties he misses the clues to Sir's nagging self-doubts, his statements that 'he can't go on' and that 'really he should be resting at home'. Hopkins's portrayal is so subtle it is heart rending. This subtlety cannot be gained on stage as stray tears cannot be seen from the stalls let alone the gallery. McKellen, meanwhile, fusses and flaps with perfectly understood gay mannerisms for the period setting. As Norman, he gets perfectly right the intonation in his voice as he ducks and bows to Sir. These two actors provide stand out performances but this is not to commend all the other actors who also pull off incredibly touching and believable performances. Oh yes, this is worth watching, just be prepared to be left bereft.

The Dresser, 2015. *Spoiler/plot- An aging dramatic stage actor during WW2, begins to fall apart and needs his stage 'dresser' to keep him going on during bombing raids in London.*Special Stars- Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Emily Watson, Sarah Lancashire, Edward Fox, Vanessa Kirby, Tom Brooke.*Theme- TV cable dramatic movie. It good to have emotional support from your team when you create on the stage. *Trivia/location/goofs- All interiors shot in film. *Emotion- A great buddy film that highlights real complex human roles. A TV re-make of the famous theater work that was done as a feature film decades ago with two different male British leads. Still worth watching if you enjoy real characters and dramatic situations. *Based On- 'Dresser' theater play.

It's funny how 32 years can fly past so quickly. It's one of those titles you'd have thought they'd never dare tackle, but sure enough they did. Thoughts before watching, they won't hold a candle to the mastery of Messers Courtenay and Finney. Was Hopkins right for Sir?Thoughts after watching, a successful outing for two acting greats that managed so amuse and sadden. McKellen expertly cast, Hopkins shone after twenty minutes or so. It generated a level of intimacy, similar to the feeling captured only live on stage.A nice touch having Edward Fox in the remake, he'd been marvelously cold as Oxenby back in '83. The part where he touchingly pleads for work was beautiful.