Michael Palin was always 'the Quiet One' of the Monty Python gang, but he was one of the most talented actors in the group (second only to Cleese and maybe Chapman) and a key writer of some of their most memorable skits. In this, his one and only true vanity project - the only film in which Palin was the sole writer as well as the star - he didn't quite make the grade. Palin is a wonderful actor, but not quite as good at being at the center of attention as Cleese, Chapman or even Idle in his own over-the-top way; his character in The Missionary feels bland and uncharismatic, a muffled echo of his Sir Galahad from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (though it may be the inspiration for his much funnier chaplain character in The Meaning of Life).
The Missionary isn't a bad film; it simply reeks of mediocrity and indecision, which leads to a sad feeling that it could have been much better. The writing is solid all the way through, but it's never quite clear if it was intended as a goofball comedy or a tongue-in-cheek social satire. As it is there's a little of both, but neither one goes all the way. The same goes for the characters played by Palin himself and by Maggie Smith, who are are denied strong, comical characteristics, but don't have any real subtlety or depth of character either. It's the more outrageous, cartoonish characters that are memorable - played by fine actors like Michael Hordern, Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott, Phoebe Nicholls and a young but unmistakable Timothy Spall. Any scene with these characters works well, and that's when Palin's talent as a comedy writer and the famous Pythonesque timing pay off. Unfortunately these are sidenotes in the mess that is the overall film, which is dominated by the wasted talents of Palin and Smith.
The Missionary isn't a bad film; it simply reeks of mediocrity and indecision, which leads to a sad feeling that it could have been much better. The writing is solid all the way through, but it's never quite clear if it was intended as a goofball comedy or a tongue-in-cheek social satire. As it is there's a little of both, but neither one goes all the way. The same goes for the characters played by Palin himself and by Maggie Smith, who are are denied strong, comical characteristics, but don't have any real subtlety or depth of character either. It's the more outrageous, cartoonish characters that are memorable - played by fine actors like Michael Hordern, Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott, Phoebe Nicholls and a young but unmistakable Timothy Spall. Any scene with these characters works well, and that's when Palin's talent as a comedy writer and the famous Pythonesque timing pay off. Unfortunately these are sidenotes in the mess that is the overall film, which is dominated by the wasted talents of Palin and Smith.