im-the-punk-who:Toby Stephens Thirstography #7 - Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) Toby Stephens Hotn
im-the-punk-who:Toby Stephens Thirstography #7 - Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) Toby Stephens Hotness: ?????????? 15/10 maybe a lot more????? Okay. Okay. *pinches bridge of nose* Okay? Okay. I love? This role? William Gordon joins the list of ‘characters who own my entire heart’ as the Soft Bisexual just trying his best trying to figure out this whole rebellion thing. Toby gets a lot of chances to show off here, and the role is a great one in what is to be honest a really really solid movie. And yes - that includes dirt wrestling with his boyfriend, pulling pranks on the guy who hurt his boyfriend, being an absolute dumbass and somehow also gaining a girlfriend, the softest kisses ever portrayed on screen, smartmouthing off to literally everyone - pirate masquerade outfit?? I love William Gordon okay? I love him a lot. (Listen you can say he and Mangal are best friends, I’m saying they’re gay because … well wish fulfillment but also … boys … fellas… is it gay to give a guy your only means of defense after he saves your life and then spend the next few years becoming such close friends with him that he literally trusts you with his eternal soul and then when it turns out you unwittingly betrayed him to jeopardize the career you’ve spent half your life building to try and protect him when he’s put in danger and then when he dies to turn against your entire country to fight in the uprising he started? Asking for William Gordon.) This role is lovingly subtitled: James McGraw, the prequel. Some bonus shot below the cut, and this one has Outtakes too! Plot: 10/10 This is a movie about the first big uprising in India against the East India Trading Company. Toby plays William Gordon, an officer in the company and a good friend/boyfriend of the aforementioned titular character Mangal Pandey. While this is billed as a Bollywood film, it’s less musical than most - and definitely also draws on more western influences. The plot is interesting, hits on both the tension between Indians and the East India Company that led up to the First Indian Revolution, and also tensions within the ranks - with Gordon being Scottish and Catholic in a mostly British & Protestant company, and between Indian social casts. The movie takes such care to show not only the differences between the English and Indian cultures but also within both those cultures, the types of people who get outcast, who are thought less of. How people may be powerless in one situation but have absolute power in another. It deals with the inherent racism of even the most well meaning white people, the ways we can connect across religious and cultural differences, the way that sometimes there is no right answer - honestly I could go on and on but I have literally cried every time I watch this movie. It’s truly truly a really well done piece of media. Watchability: 10/10 This is easily one of my favorite Toby Stephens movies. I mean, aside from Toby Stephens playing a Definitely Bisexual Scottish Soldier In Love With Aamir Khan And Ameesha Patel. Like. ????? There are lots of stupid shenanigans, an interesting plot and interesting characters and even a little bit of Bollywood dancing. There’s nuanced social commentary presented in an entertaining way and also dirt wrestling. Oh, I know, lip bitiey kisses. Which this movie also supplies. *chef kiss* Please I beg you, watch Mangal Pandey: The Rising. Warnings: There are a few scenes of attempted sexual assaults on women, one or two physical assaults, and a good number of instances of racialized violence, but nothing above what I would grade PG-13. (The movie itself is rated G, so.) Depiction of a hanging. Where to Watch: There’s a full version on youtube! Keep reading -- source link
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