Andrew Scott Earns Standing Ovation as "Elsinore" Opens London Film Festival

Andrew Scott received a standing ovation Wednesday night as “Elsinore,” a drama about the actor Ian Charleson, opened the 70th BFI London Film Festival at the Royal Festival Hall. The European premiere left many in the audience in tears as the credits rolled, then on their feet when Scott’s name appeared. Simon Stone directed the film from a script by Stephen Beresford.

Scott plays Charleson, the Scottish actor from “Chariots of Fire,” during his last weeks playing Hamlet at the National Theatre in the early 1990s before he died of AIDS. Olivia Colman plays his doctor, Margaret Johnson. Joe Locke, Monica Dolan, Adeel Akhtar and Juliet Stevenson also appear. Scott produced the film as well.

The venue carried weight. The National Theatre stands next door, a short walk from where Charleson gave his final performance. Stone told the crowd the story unfolds 100 meters from the stage. Festival artistic director Kristy Matheson said her selection team “fell so deeply in love” with the film, which has drawn strong notices since its Telluride debut earlier this month and is already tipped as an awards contender.

Scott described the film to Reuters as an ode to living fully in the face of tragedy. After the screening he invited real people from Charleson’s story onto the stage alongside the actors who portray them, among them Linda Tolhurst, the National’s stage doorkeeper for 46 years. He closed the evening by introducing a track from “The Ethel Merman Disco Album,” which features in the film, and urged the audience to dance out of the hall in Charleson’s honor.

Scott’s performance has earned praise from his castmates. Locke called him among the finest actors working today, and Stone agreed. The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic, David Rooney, also singled out the lead turn in his review. StudioCanal will release “Elsinore” in Britain, and Focus Features opens it in the United States on Nov. 20. The festival runs 12 days through Oct. 18 at cinemas across London, including BFI Southbank.