"Imagine a summer in paradise with nothing to do except everything your heart desires."

Summary:

My Life so Far tells the story of a exquisitely eccentric Scottish upper middle class family, seen through the eyes of an adventurous ten-year old; Fraser Pettigrew. In this period of time - the late 1920s and early 1930s - there were rumblings of war in Europe, but the Pettigrews were still living in their own little joyous world in the misty Scottish Highlands.

Though the child and animal-filled grand loch-side estate is kept remotely sane by both Fraser's domineering Gamma and beautiful mother Moira, it is spiritually headed by Fraser's madcap father Edward [Colin Firth], a Beethoven lover, rebel, moralist, brilliant inventor, charmer, philanderer and living contradiction.

To others, Edward is a crackpot, but to Fraser, who adores his irrepressibly romantic father, Edward is a force beyond comprehension. Life with father on the estate is a fairy tale, a series of one remarkable occurrence after another, filled with ingenious contraptions and amazing figments of the imagination. Then, reality strikes in the person of Uncle Morris, the sole heir to Gamma's estate and a hard-nosed businessman who has had his fill of Edward's harebrained schemes and moss factory. Morris brings with him to Harewood an enchanting outsider: his alluring French fiancee Heloise who will alter the family's relations and fate forever.

Everyone falls madly in love with Heloise, including Fraser. But as the fearless Fraser watches the way Heloise takes Harewood by storm, he begins to see the world - and his incorrigibly boyish father - through newly adult eyes.

 "There's a high level of play about Edward. He clearly has a love for his family, adores his life, thinks it's paradise. But his folly threatens it all. And at times you think he's unspeakable and lacks compassion. It's a fine line to walk. You play some of these scenes and you wonder if there's any redemption to him at all"

(Movie)

	From filming in Scotland:  Colin Firth, clad in striped one-piece 1920s-style swimsuit, runs along the lake shore to a small wooden jetty with three young boys, white towels 'round their waists, in pursuit. Firth jumps into the bitterly chill water (estimated temperature 4-degrees Celsius), but the boys skid to a halt at the jetty's end. Teeth chattering and breathless with cold, he vainly urges them to join him. When he emerges from the freezing lake to a hearty round of applause from director Hugh Hudson and his crew. "You've earned your money today, Colin," says one. Firth nods mutely. He's been hearing about this scene all day in series of jokes from crew members. It's not only that Firth would have to brave the bitter cold of the icy loch; the other source of mirth is that he became a major name in Britain partly as result of another scene in which he got soaked... [The Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1997] To play this kind of father, who alternately spend his days barking like a dog and inventing some remarkable gadget, the filmmakers chose Colin Firth. Director Hugh Hudson: "Colin brought a sense of youth and impetuousness and delightful eccentricity to the role. He's a very intelligent man and that comes off on screen - but he also played the role as a child, which is what Edward is: child at play in the adult world."

Memorable Quotes from "My Life So Far":

Edward Pettigrew: Jazz is the sound of the devil sniggering at our follies.

Full credits here 

Runtime: 98 min

Country: UK / USA

Language: English

Color: Color

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Certification: Australia:PG / Hong Kong:IIA / Spain:T / UK:12 / USA:PG-13 / Argentina:13 / Singapore:PG

MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested: some material may not suitable for children)

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The Onet.pl Film photogallery of "My Life So Far" (12 photos)

Cast:

Some information courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.

Also with thanks to the Colin Firth Career Timeline