It seems like forever that I’ve been waiting for Bob Hoskins’ Ruby Blue to make its way somewhere where I could watch it. And it has been over a year now. I guess I’m going to have to keep waiting though as there is still no official release date (over a year after it wrapped), but maybe that’s due to the somewhat controversial nature of the film, which has to do with a man (Hoskins) whose life is turned upside down when his innocent friendship with a young girl makes the town suspect him of pedophilia. I hadn’t heard anything new about this for months, but then just last week, Bob spoke with British Film Magazine talking about why he chose the role and the end of the article says that movie will finally tour film festivals and make a limited release this spring. About time.

Of why he chose the role, Bob simply says, “I liked the script.” Then he mentions that the script had absolutely no dialogue and that “It just told the story. A very powerful story. Dealing with sex change and child abuse. And what made it different and more challenging was that the central characters were not young people, who could be prettied up, but oldies, who have nothing to hide behind. I found that interesting, he says soberly. Then the director and the producer turned up on my doorstep and charmed the life out of me. That was it. … The production [on small films] is more intimate and I find working like that more rewarding. More fun. It’s a collective art form. That’s what attracts me to it. That’s why I love it.”

I’ve read a few early, early screening reviews and all are saying Hoskins gives an Oscar-worthy performance. It’s odd that the script he read didn’t have any dialogue – does that mean that the dialogue in this is mostly improvised? I’m not sure. Hoskins is one of my absolutely favorite actors though and I look forward to seeing him in a leading role again – he does them few and far between nowadays. There was an official site, but it seems have been taken down, for reasons unknown to me. Here’s the official plot synopsis that I snagged off there a few months back:

“At 65, Jack (Bob Hoskins) is consumed by past guilt and regret. His strained relationship with his son is severed on the death of his wife. Jack is lost and alone in his self loathing, and spirals into decline. Hope arrives in the unlikely form of eight-year-old, Florrie, a soft-natured girl who moves in next door and delights in his long neglected racing pigeon Ruby.
When his glamorous French neighbour, Stephanie (Josiane Balasko) takes pity on him, Jack cannot help but fall for her charms. Encouraged by Stephanie, Jack helps a local hooligan by giving him his prized Ruby. When an innocent friendship with Florrie is thrown into question and Stephanie reveals a well kept secret, Jack’s life is thrown into turmoil once again. Jack finally cracks, consumed with sadness and humiliation, until tragedy forces him to confront his prejudices, face his fears and challenge those around him in a bid to win back Stephanie’s love.”