This film is part of Rentals
Walter
Ian McKellen stars in Stephen Frears' TV play as Walter, a man with learning difficulties who's put in an institution after the death of his mother.
Director: Stephen Frears
Overview
Ian McKellen stars in this Channel 4 TV play from acclaimed director Stephen Frears. McKellen plays Walter,a man with learning difficulties who encounters many barriers. Things get worse for Walter, however, once his mother passes away and he is sent to live in a learning disability hospital. The film charts his life in this institutional setting, as he impacts everyone around him differently.
Frears imbues a sensitivity and grit to the character portrayal, eliciting sympathy but never overly sentimentalising. Although McKellen delivers a bravura performance, a long-standing debate continues around the representation of disabled characters by non-disabled actors. Similar to the arguments and discussions around white actors "blacking up" with an eye to Oscar glory, some disabled actors and activists feel strongly that disability on screen and stage should only be represented by disabled people. Learning disabled actors are increasing being given roles, but often not headline ones. Frears went on to have a successful and fascinating career, directing films such as My Beautiful Laundrette, The Grifters, The Queen, and Philomena. He made a sequel to Walter - Walter and June - again starring McKellen, and also on BFI Player.
Related
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
Tracks Tracks
Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran
Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Biopic 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
Notes on Blindness Notes on Blindness
Documentary 2016 87 mins Director: James Spinney and Peter Middleton
James Spinney and Peter Middleton's highly original documentary uses cinematic interpretations and textured sound design to express a ‘world beyond sight.’
The Possibilities Are Endless The Possibilities Are Endless
Documentary 2014 83 mins Director: Edward Lovelace and James Hall
A moving and haunting account of singer Edwyn Collins’s long and difficult recovery from a stroke.
Behindert Behindert
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 98 mins Director: Stephen Dwoskin
The account of a close, personal relationship as experienced by a disabled man.
The Reason I Jump The Reason I Jump
Documentary 2021 82 mins Director: Jerry Rothwell
Award-winning director Jerry Rothwell's compelling documentary is a rare cinematic and sensorial insight into the world of non-speaking autistic people.
A Space in Time A Space in Time
Documentary 2021 88 mins Director: Nick Taussig and Riccardo Servini
Candid and intimate portrait of one family’s journey to transcend a fatal muscle wasting disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Is There Anybody Out There? Is There Anybody Out There?
Documentary 2023 87 mins Director: Ella Glendining
Highlighting the importance of being seen, Ella Glendining invites us on a personal journey as she sets out to find others with the same rare disability as herself.
Mr. Holmes Mr. Holmes
Crime 2015 104 mins Director: Bill Condon
Ian McKellen plays the august detective, now a 93-year-old whose principle case is trying to unravel the mysteries of his own past.
Scandal Scandal
Drama 1989 114 mins Director: Michael Caton-Jones
A fictionalised account of the 1963 ‘Profumo Affair’ that rocked the government of British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Starring John Hurt, Joanne Whalley, Bridget Fonda, Ian McKellen and Leslie Phillips.
Walter and June Walter and June
Drama 1983 65 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ian McKellen and Stephen Frears reunite for the sequel to their TV play Walter. The titular character (McKellen) meets a young mother (Sarah Miles) who is suicidally depressed; the two support one another to cope with life in a closed institution.
50 Years Legal 50 Years Legal
Documentary 2017 77 mins Director: Simon Napier-Bell
Five decades on from the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality, a range of LGBTQ+ stars (including Sir Elton John and Stephen Fry) reflect on Britain's history of prejudice, persecution and liberation.
Richard III Richard III
Drama 1996 104 mins Director: Richard Loncraine
Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s bold restaging transplants Shakespeare’s play to an imagined 1930s fascist Britain.
A Bit of Scarlet A Bit of Scarlet
Documentary 1996 71 mins Director: Andrea Weiss
Mapping how British film and TV depicts the gay and lesbian lifestyle, Andrea Weiss raids the archives for her funny and persuasive documentary.
Nelly's Version Nelly's Version
Drama 1983 103 mins Director: Maurice Hatton
Legendary British actress Eileen Atkins stars as a woman with no memory or recollection, only knowing her own name.
Tamara Drewe Tamara Drewe
Comedy 2010 111 mins Director: Stephen Frears
The return of beautiful journalist Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) awakens destructive passions in a Dorset village.
Walter and June Walter and June
Drama 1983 65 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ian McKellen and Stephen Frears reunite for the sequel to their TV play Walter. The titular character (McKellen) meets a young mother (Sarah Miles) who is suicidally depressed; the two support one another to cope with life in a closed institution.
The Program The Program
Biopic 2015 103 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ben Foster is Lance Armstrong in this kinetic account of the cyclist who fell from grace, from acclaimed director Stephen Frears.
Prick Up Your Ears Prick Up Your Ears
Biopic 1987 110 mins Director: Stephen Frears
A celebration of outrageous British playwright Joe Orton’s irreverent and charismatic talent, starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina.
The Burning The Burning
Drama 1967 31 mins Director: Stephen Frears
A white woman and her young grandson come face to face with a black uprising in Apartheid South Africa, in a tough short film by Stephen Frears.
Typically British Typically British
Documentary 1994 76 mins Director: Stephen Frears and Michael Dibb
Stephen Frears explores the wealth of stylish and familiar images created by the British film industry in the 20th century, aided by fellow directors Alexander Mackendrick, Michael Apted, and Alan Parker and writer Gavin Lambert.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.