Hampstead
starring Diane Keaton, Brendan Gleeson, Lesley Manville, Jason Watkins, James Norton, Simon Callow and Phil Davis
screenplay by Robert Festinger
directed by Joel Hopkins
Rating: ♦◊◊◊◊
This is a romantic comedy inspired by the life of Henry “Harry” Hallowes, a homeless man "who lived the way he wanted,” and who successfully claimed ownership of a half-acre plot of Hampstead Heath on the grounds of his long occupation of a cabin there. The film tells the fictitious tale of a relationship between Harry and Emily Walters (Diane Keaton), a widow who lives across the road. Basically, Emily falls in love with the tramp and together in court they defend Henry’s occupation of the land against the encroachment of a property developer that wants to put up high-end housing.
The real story of Harry Hallowes goes something like this; in 1987 he squatted on a site in the Hampstead Heath after being evicted from his council flat in Highgate. Hallowes, who died aged 88 in 2016, battled for the legal rights to own the land on which he had built his shelter arguing Squatter’s Rights. He was eventually awarded ownership of a 650 m2 piece of property that made him an instant millionaire (on paper).
To me, Hallowes’ story is that of a stereotypic Englishman - the eccentric gardener, the fiercely independent and stubborn oddball masked by an easily-underestimated mild manner. That does not inspire me or earn my regard, although Keaton and Gleeson act their characters well. The landscape itself - Hampstead Heath - is a character by itself. It’s marvelous. I admire the way the human characters fit into their surroundings - the heath, the suburban houses, the city. But that’s all I admire.