It seemed like a curious choice when Bill Murray was cast as the late US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the adaptation of Hyde Park On Hudson, but now that the first trailer has hit Yahoo!, the movie looks to be Murray's finest work in years.
Based on the 2009 British radio play by Richard Nelson (who adapted the screenplay), Hyde Park on Hudson takes place during a weekend in 1939 when Roosevelt was visited by the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I, played by Samuel West and Olivia Colman respectively — the first ever visit to America by reigning British royalty. (And, coincidentally, the same monarchs depicted in the Oscar–winning The King's Speech.)
Complicating matters beyond the cultural divide is FDR's cousin, Margaret "Daisy" Suckley (Laura Linney), often thought to be Roosevelt's mistress. While the supporting cast looks terrific, it's Murray's performance that gets the most focus, and it looks like it could be the role that gets Murray the Oscar he missed out on after being nominated for 2003's Lost in Translation.
watch the trailer >> Posted 05.18.12 by Ryan