Review: A Feast at Midnight

10 year-old Freddie Findlay is sent to a boarding school by his father (Edward Fox, almost entirely in voice-over) who is subsequently the target of much bullying by other students. His only sanctuary is in forming a secret gourmet cooking club with other misfits at the school. Robert Hardy (no relation to the director) plays the headmaster, Christopher Lee is the sinister and imposing Latin instructor, with Lisa Faulkner as his daughter.

 

Apparently one of Christopher Lee’s favourite films of his own, I’m afraid I don’t share the sentiment here. This 1994 children’s film from director Justin Hardy (most prolifically a director of TV) and his co-writer Yoshi Nishio plays like Roald Dahl without the bite. Also without much of a plot. It’s all very English, very slight, and with the sinister elements ultimately coming across like a red herring. That’s a shame because the only thing I enjoyed here were the snotty attitudes of the kids and the sinister way the adult characters seemed to loom large. It felt like it was heading in an almost “Wicker Man” for kids direction that never actually eventuated (the director is related to Robin Hardy who directed Christopher Lee in 1973’s “The Wicker Man”). I had zero interest in all this boarding school culinary club stuff and was mostly bored senseless.

 

Lee (who interestingly worked on it for free) is clearly enjoying himself, Edward Fox is clearly wasted in a nothing part. Nothing much to see here, but foodies of the British persuasion might get a little something from it. One of the more obscure films in Christopher Lee’s career, I think it runs out of steam rather quick.

 

Rating: C-

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