Because he stole this movie. Looted it. Heisted it. Pillaged it.
I love it when I go 2-3 years without seeing Hurt in anything and then he appears in something like 44 Inch Chest and shows the crowd how to put on the suit and skin of a character. Worth watching just for him. I think he sets a record for use of the c-word.
John Hurt rules. I, too, was both shocked and thrilled to hear him speak this dialogue. I've always said I'd pay to hear John Hurt curse and I got my wish. There's nothing this man can't do.
shareI watched this on Hulu to see Tom Wilkinson but they didn't give him much of a part. The film belongs to Winstone and Hurt but I'm still hunting for more free Wilkinson movies, LOL!
shareGuilty as charged! Send him down and throw away the key!
He was fantastic.
John Hurt was great as Old Man Peanut, as he is in almost every role, but I'd say that Ian McShane's Meredith was every bit as memorable and colorful.
As for Winstone as Colin Diamond, the character didn't have the color of Peanut or Meredith, but Colin has a wider range of emotions in his performance. We see his rage, his fear, his sadness, and his kind side as well. In contrast, Peanut and Meredith are basically one-note characters (foul-mouthed old crank and suave, elegant homosexual), no matter how entertaining they are.