Michael Palin was always 'the Quiet One' of the Monty Python gang, but he was one of the most talented actors in the group (second only to Cleese and maybe Chapman) and a key writer of some of their most memorable skits. In this, his one and only true vanity project - the only film in which Palin was the sole writer as well as the star - he didn't quite make the grade. Palin is a wonderful actor, but not quite as good at being at the center of attention as Cleese, Chapman or even Idle in his own over-the-top way; his character in The Missionary feels bland and uncharismatic, a muffled echo of his Sir Galahad from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (though it may be the inspiration for his much funnier chaplain character in The Meaning of Life).The Missionary isn't a bad film; it simply reeks of mediocrity and indecision, which leads to a sad feeling that it could have been much better. The writing is solid all the way through, but it's never quite clear if it was intended as a goofball comedy or a tongue-in-cheek social satire. As it is there's a little of both, but neither one goes all the way. The same goes for the characters played by Palin himself and by Maggie Smith, who are are denied strong, comical characteristics, but don't have any real subtlety or depth of character either. It's the more outrageous, cartoonish characters that are memorable - played by fine actors like Michael Hordern, Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott, Phoebe Nicholls and a young but unmistakable Timothy Spall. Any scene with these characters works well, and that's when Palin's talent as a comedy writer and the famous Pythonesque timing pay off. Unfortunately these are sidenotes in the mess that is the overall film, which is dominated by the wasted talents of Palin and Smith.

Michael Palin was always the less acerbic of the Python troupe and here as in the wonderful TV series "Ripping Yarns" (that he had made three years earlier) he captures perfectly the quintessential Britishness that is Anglicanism and the clergy life and the British classes at play in Victorian Britain.The plot is classic: an Anglican missionary returns from India to wed and is sent to help fallen women find redemption in the less salubrious parts of the East End.Throughout there are a number of wonderful touches, Denholm Elliot's Bishop in the classic Bishop's stove hat with rosette and strings, looking exactly like he should be on the steps of Christchruch, the hunting party with it's upper class twittiness, and the wonderful filing system's for letters of his fiancée Deborah Firtzbanks etc; As with all of Palin's fiction the humour is affectionate and often silly but never barbed or cruel and rarely surreal. He obviously has a deep love for the surrounding, the era, and the values - and there is much to love about the time.With excellent settings (Cliveden etc;) and good costuming plus very fine lighting and editing this is no lightweight production; but it is the wonderful array of British actors of that generation, Trevor Howard, Michael Hordern, and Maggie Smith, with her impossibly brilliant figure, that steal the show.All in all, the very essence of the British: a brilliant gentle civilsed comedy that is full of touches that linger on....

This is a delightful film. Watch it with two or three of you in the room, because laughter is infectious. As ever with films that Harrison invests in, it's not afraid to mix styles, but also, there is no point that it labours. Too often films are afraid of changing their tone, as if they had to nail their colours to the 'tonal' mast early on and then obey that: a screwball comedy has to be screwball, a period piece has to be charming, engaging, but not dramatic, etc etc etc.The script, written by Palin himself, is an absolute gem, and for once his silliness is kept well within bounds. As someone else said, this isn't the 'expansio ad absurdum' technique of fine, fine Python, nor the pull-faces-and-use-silly-words-can't-think-of-an-idea of Palin on his off days. Enough, but not enough, has been written about the cast, all of whom provide top-notch performances. Whom to praise most? I note as well, that the "Memorable Quotes" section still misses what may be the funniest exchange in the whole film, the sequence which begins, "You know perfectly well why we got rid of Margetson." The only people who are going to be disappointed by this film are those people who have dogmatic views about what a Palin film should be, or who think a comedy should spare them the trouble of thinking and leave them in a heap of rubble on the floor. Take the film on its own merits and, though you might think of ideas which the film didn't touch, places where it didn't go, you will still find enough in there to remember those ninety minutes fondly. Would I see it again? When's it on next?

You don't have to be a fan of Monty Python in general, or Michael Palin in particular, to enjoy "The Missionary". It's gently British humour conceals a razor sharp satirical edge, and there is something new to spot with every fresh viewing.With Maggie Smith in the lead role, making the whole thing look as effortless as ever, it's easy to miss the outstanding performances from such icons as Michael Hordern and Tim Spall, the latter looking like a parody of himself as a servant of, shall we say, basic stock.Phoebe Nichols delights and charms as the appalling Deborah and Denholm Elliott oozes charm as an outrageously un-Christian bishop. The characters are classics of comedy yet they still surprise. A satisfying dollop of bad taste completes the mixture. Unmissable.