Elsinore ruined me – Andrew Scott’s standing ovation was totally justified

Star GoldStar GoldStar GoldStar GoldStar Gold | Senior Film & Entertainment Reporter Published October 10, 2026 9:30am Updated October 10, 2026 9:34am To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Elsinore is an extraordinary film. Alongside the career-defining performance from Andrew Scott at its heart, it’s delightfully witty while also being capable of emotional devastation. At times I watched with a massive lump in my throat, attempting in vain to tamp down my tears while hearing the sniffles of others in my press screening at London Film Festival (where it later received a standing ovation during its gala screening). It’s truly as wonderful as the earliest rave reviews have promised – and I’ve already identified the moment the Academy will play as they read out the best actor Oscar nominations next year. And yes, that’s a win that Scott should – and will, I’m saying it now – scoop. No one could have done the role of Ian Charleson as much justice as the former Sherlock and Fleabag star, who has always been just as talented at breaking our hearts as he is at making us laugh uproariously. There’s a remarkable balance of pain and heartbreak from the actor, alongside emphasising the joy of Charleson’s spirit and his biting wit when things could be getting just a little bit too tragic. But Elsinore, directed by Simon Stone, is also exceptional outside of Scott’s performance, as a heartfelt and gorgeously detailed love letter to the British theatrical establishment – and not to mention that Stephen Beresford’s script is also bloody funny. It opens with whispers backstage during the middle of a 1989 performance of Shakespeare’s landmark play Hamlet at the National Theatre, which has now passed into British theatrical legend after Sir Daniel Day-Lewis legged it off the stage, abandoning the show and then its entire run after being convinced he’d seen his father’s ghost. Andrew Scott stars as Ian Charleson, the stage actor who took on one final challenge in the last few months of his life while living with AIDS (Picture: StudioCanal) He replaced Daniel Day-Lewis in the titular role in Hamlet at London’s Royal National Theatre (Picture: StudioCanal) ‘Well that’s not supposed to happen,’ comments one backstage worker drily, as Day-Lewis’s dressing room door slams shut. Meanwhile across town, Charleson is auditioning for a sub-par US project with Shakespeare quotes (his agent confesses to having not actually read the uninspired script), only to find himself, when cast, nearly bored to tears hanging around in his trailer waiting to shoot. While any good Hollywood work is proving hard for Charleson to find now, his breakout success in the immensely popular and award-winning Chariots of Fire eight years prior follows him around, from the back of the taxi to the doctor’s office, where he’s attending a regular check-up as a man living with AIDS. There’s still a huge stigma attached to the diagnosis – and certainly professionally – but Charleson finds camaraderie in the thriving gay community of Soho, as well as his fellow thespians and casting director best friend Patsy Pollock (an effervescent Billie Piper). Elsinore: Key details Director Simon Stone Writer Stephen Beresford, based on an idea by Ethan Silverman Cast Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompsonm Joe Locke, Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Joe Locke, Peter Mullan, Georgie Glen, Matthew Beard, David Dawson Age rating TBC Run time 1hr 51m Release date Elsinore is scheduled for release on January 29, 2027. Olivia Colman is Scott’s perfect foil as the pioneering doctor treating him (Picture: StudioCanal) When acclaimed director Richard Eyre (Johnny Flynn) then asks him to rescue Hamlet, replacing Day-Lewis, Charleson squares up to the challenge of a hugely demanding role when his own health is failing. After a recommendation, he heads to Dr Margaret Johnson’s (Olivia Colman) clinic – a real-life pioneer in the treatment of AIDS – for the best care, but they are at loggerheads over his goal as Colman’s brisk and no-nonsense medical expert is concerned performing Hamlet could kill him. As she quips, the play isn’t exactly known as ‘a short evening of light entertainment’. Colman is very good as the obstacle in Charleson’s path, as grounded as Scott is playful. It’s particularly poignant to see Scott take on the role of a closeted gay actor as one who has been publicly out himself since 2013. He also has a celebrated turn on stage in the West End as Hamlet on his own CV, from Robert Icke’s 2017 production. Charleson’s silence is challenged by filmmaker Derek Jarman (David Dawson), given the impact going public with his diagnosis could have, leading to Scott’s most vulnerable and touching scenes – we’re truly cherry-picking the very best of the best here – as he defends himself before confessing his regrets to actor friend Sean Mathias (Matthew Beard) and then coming out to his parents (Peter Mullan and Georgie Glen). Elsinore is emotionally devastating, but also very funny in parts (Picture: StudioCanal) Johnny Flynn with Scott, Colman and Billie Piper at the Elsinore London Film Festival premiere (Picture: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage) Elsinore’s most inspirational and uplifting moments can be found in the cast’s Hamlet rehearsals, with several known faces from the theatre playing stage vets of the day – such as Juliet Stevenson as Sylvia Syms – as well as a montage inside and around the real National Theatre. Monica Dolan is also very entertaining as acerbic stage door supervisor Linda Tolhurst, who’s never impressed nor ruffled, despite claiming to have seen a loose snake and Peter O’Toole in a headlock in her time. She also requests that Charleson keep Hamlet under three hours because she doesn’t like the night bus and has an anxious cat at home. Beresford’s script is tender and theatrical, but unflinchingly real and very British in its often bleak humour and wit, providing a brilliant foundation to the film; it absolutely deserves to be recognised during awards season too. Verdict Elsinore emotionally ruined me. It’s truly magnificent. Elsinore screened at the 70th BFI London Film Festival. It’s scheduled for UK release on January 29, 2027. 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