Family Film Review - Bill

Now the children are a bit older we love chilling out in front of a good film with a large bowl of popcorn on a Saturday night. However the children are at that difficult age where they have grown out of 'babyish' films but are not quite ready for some films aimed at older children. It's also often hard to find a film that me and my husband can enjoy as well. So, as you can imagine we were really excited to review Bill as it seemed to tick all of our boxes. We love the Tudors and Tudor history and the children got into the spirit by wearing their Tudor outfits!

We're already big fans of Horrible Histories and Bill includes many of the key players from this great series. The star-studded British ensemble cast includes Mathew Baynton (The Wrong Mans, You, Me and the Apocalypse), Simon Farnaby (Paddington), Martha Howe-Douglas (Doctor Foster), Jim Howick (Peep Show, Stag), Helen McCrory (Skyfall, Peaky Blinders) and Damian Lewis (Homeland). BILL was written by two of its stars – Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond.

Bill tells the tale of young Bill Shakespeare who sets out into the world to find fame and fortune with some hilarious mishaps along the way. I loved the fact that the film combined humour with some fun historical facts and I really enjoyed the way that some of Shakespeare's most famous quotes were worked into the scripts - for example the band he joins at the start (yes didn't you know he was a rock lutenist?) is called 'Mortal Coil'.

The plot thickens as Shakespeare and his friend and sometimes rival Christopher Marlow attempt to foil the Kind of Spain's cunning scheme to get rid of Good Queen Bess and put himself on the throne of England instead!

The children really enjoyed the film and there were many snorts of laughter to be heard amongst the general chomping of popcorn and slurping of drinks (I bet you're glad we stayed at home to watch the film!). Us adults enjoyed it too and of course there was a little bit of history and literature thrown in too for good measure.

I'd really recommend this film as a treat for all the family and we hope to see more from the Horrible Histories and Bill team soon!

If you think the Bard is bloomin brilliant then why not take a look at this fab infographic for some Tudor trivia!