Paul Weiland is most persuasive in short-form comedy and the carefully made fantasy of The Storyteller. We recommend the television work with more confidence than the features, where Sixty Six offers a more personal reason to look.
Fi1m perspective
John Hurt tells the folk tales of The Storyteller (1988), and the elaborate puppetry rewards a closer look. We were unsettled by the combination of that puppetry and the series’ solemn tone. Weiland directed episodes including ‘The Three Ravens’ for Jim Henson, and this is absorbing work we recommend. Its success is shared, though: Hurt’s narration is a large part of the pleasure, and Weiland should not receive all the credit. Nor does the solemnity always help; some short tales feel heavier than they need to.
Weiland came to directing through advertising, beginning commercials in the late 1970s. The long-running Walkers crisps campaign is central to a reputation built on humour and celebrity casting. We rate that short-form skill, but it does not make every longer comedy a sensible bet. His feature debut, Leonard Part 6 (1987), was widely panned, so the move into longer comedy hardly established a reliable new direction.
Rowan Atkinson supplies the other useful route through the work: episodes of Mr. Bean (1991), then Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999). These collaborations fit Weiland’s strength in short-form comedy, working with an established comic performer. We do not need every director to impose a conspicuous style. Working successfully within somebody else’s comedy is a worthwhile job, even when it gives us little sense of the director’s own tastes.
The features include City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994), a Hollywood sequel, and the mainstream romantic comedy Made of Honour (2008). Between them, Sixty Six (2006) gives the career a more personal subject. Weiland directed and contributed the story, drawing the bar-mitzvah comedy-drama from his own childhood. It is the feature to investigate for a clearer sense of what he might want to say about his own experience.
For the firmer recommendation, start with The Storyteller. Its elaborate puppetry and excellent narrator repay the attention, even when the tone becomes too solemn. Choose an evening when close attention is part of the plan.
Biography
Paul Weiland (born 11 July 1953) is an English film and television director, writer and producer. He began his career in advertising and has directed more than 500 television commercials, including a long-running series for Walkers crisps.
Weiland has directed British television series including Alas Smith and Jones (1989–1992) and episodes of Mr. Bean (1991–1995). His feature film credits include Leonard Part 6 (1987), City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994), Roseanna's Grave (1997), Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999), Sixty Six (2006) and Made of Honor (2008). He won a BAFTA Award for The Storyteller: The Three Ravens.
