Elsinore (BFI London Film Festival 2026)

The story of Ian Charleson was one I was unfamiliar with, something which I was slightly ashamed of when I finished watching Elsinore, the first film I saw at LFF and one of the hardest for me to form thoughts on. While overall it was a strong and powerful watch, there are some observable issues that mostly come as a result of the film’s typical biopic structure. However, I feel bad criticising a film like this given the subject matter, especially when that subject matter is harnessed by Andrew Scott and channelled into his best performance to date.

Scott is an actor I go back and forth on. He has many fantastic qualities but when he’s miscast, it’s often frustrating when he’s seen blatantly not playing to his strengths. For example, the more time goes on, the less I like his iteration of Moriarty, where the eccentric and psychotic tendencies of his character override any sense of menace the classic villain could’ve had. Scott is at his best when he underplays. The conversational way that he plays the classic ‘to be or not to be’ monologue in Hamlet is a really unique take on the oft-overdone scene – and that manner of acting works wonders in his turn as Ian Charleson. 

Elsinore’s presentation of Charleson is of a humble and frustrated man who keeps himself to himself, especially when he receives his AIDS diagnosis. Seeking to end the lull in his career after his prominent role in Chariots of Fire, he seizes the opportunity to play Hamlet after Daniel Day-Lewis abruptly quits the production. However, early into rehearsals he finds out from Olivia Colman’s Margaret Johnson that he has the disease, and the demanding role of Hamlet will further decrease what life he has left. Scott is excellent at juggling all these huge emotions without really showing it. His performance understandably breaks down during some of the more intense scenes in the film’s middle, but for the most part, his hurting and reserved portrayal of Charleson works. He is by far the best element of Elsinore, and I have no doubt that the upcoming awards ceremonies are going to be lining up left and right to nominate him. 

The rest of the cast are all solid, if outshone considerably by Scott. Billie Piper does good work as Charleson’s close friend Patsy, and David Dawson lends a lot of pathos to his portrayal of director Derek Jarman. He’s used sparingly but, in the scenes where he serves to counter Charleson’s perspective on his illness and the gay community as a whole, he really does shine. Ironically, the weak link in the cast is Olivia Colman. It’s not that she’s bad, because she’s probably incapable of that by this point, however, the film never seems sure what tone to strike with her character. 

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Colman has one of the most important roles in the film as Margaret Johnson, Charleson’s doctor who treated him throughout his illness and became known as one of the first doctors to dedicate themselves to helping victims of HIV. There’s evidently tension between her and Charleson: she doesn’t believe that Charleson should be putting himself through the strenuous rehearsal schedule, and often speaks dismissively of his passion for acting and the theatre in general. Likewise, it’s clear that this comes from a place of genuine care. She wants Charleson to live longer, and if he continues to rehearse and perform Hamlet, he won’t. However, the mood that her character is in tends to change drastically, and the film doesn’t do a great job at showing why Johnson feels that way. 

This is perhaps compounded by another issue with Elsinore: the editing. It’s not Bohemian Rhapsody or Quantum Of Solace levels of hyperactivity, but the standard biopic editing (montages, jumping through someone’s life, etc) is exacerbated a bit by some quite poor and needlessly fast cuts that dampen some of the emotional impact, and there’s a few too many montages. Towards the end it works quite well, but the constant rehearsal sequences and scenes of Charleson’s illness progressing should be smoother than they are.

Still, Elsinore succeeds emotionally during the points where it matters most. After a first half that was much funnier and more relaxed than I thought it would be, the hard-hitting stuff you’re expecting truly begins, and the film’s tone irrevocably changes. The quite active audience was soon made deadly silent, apart from the sea of sniffles and gasps that accompanied some of the harsher and bleaker scenes in the film’s back-half. And the third act brings the film together in something predictable but emotionally satisfying. We know that the story has a tragic ending and, to the film’s credit, it doesn’t shy away from that. It succeeds at showing Charleson at his highest highs and lowest lows, emotionally and physically, but the final scenes manage to make his last days heartbreaking but dignified, as a fantastic talent showed off how good and brave a man he was before leaving us far too soon. 

Elsinore is certainly a biopic, and that sometimes works against it. The conventional tropes are only made worse by some poor editing choices and a film that sometimes lets the world around its central figure down. But as a celebration of Ian Charleson’s life and work, and as a vehicle for Andrew Scott’s award season, it more than gets the job done. 

ALEX’S ARCHIVE – ELSINORE (BFI LFF 2026)