Mr Burton Review: Quintessentially British

Mr Burton is a heartwarming tale of found family and feels like it was made perfectly for an afternoon showing on BBC2.

Richard Jenkins (Harry Lawtey, of Joker: Folie à Deux) is a keen school boy raised by his sister, Cis (Aimee-Ffion Edwards, of Peaky Blinders), and her miner husband, Elfed (Aneurin Barnard, of Dunkirk). Money is scarce, and, lacking the support from his drunkard father, Dic (Steffan Rhodri, of House of the Dragon), Richard is forced to drop out of school and work at a shop. Richard’s teacher, P.H. Burton (Toby Jones, of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), sees promise in him as an educated man and an actor, and convinces Richard to come back to school with an agreement that he will help train him as an actor. Guiding him to speak more clearly and project his voice, Burton slowly improves Richard’s life through his support as a father figure and his nurture as a teacher. 

Mr Burton is a quintessentially British piece of cinema, from the wartime setting, to the class divide plot line, to the appearance of British cinema stalwart Toby Jones. The many Britishisms continue into the second act, with Burton teaching Richard proper etiquette and pronunciation, to give him a future in a higher society. The inclusion of scenes of Shakespeare only adds to this, and it is these scenes in which the film shines the brightest. The actors, writers, and director seem to have a very good understanding of Shakespearean language, and as a result, these scenes are some of the most engaging Shakespeare monologues I have seen on film.

The narrative moves quite slowly through Richard’s early life, starting as a school boy who has no hope for his future outside the mines, charting his education with Burton, and then skipping eight years into the future as Richard struggles with confidence and alcoholism whilst preparing for the biggest stage performance of his life. The plot would have benefitted from being slightly leaner, but it’s charming to see the father-figure relationship between Burton and Richard slowly blossom and bloom into a touching and tearful climax. Richard is a character who has been let down by his real father so many times that he is looking for someone to fill the void, but at the same time refuses to truly allow himself to accept Burton as his father until the end.

There are a number of outstanding performances in this, most notably Lawtey, who is doing some brilliant accent work as the bumbling Welshman — often speaking in Welsh, which is a fantastic addition to the script — before morphing into a beautiful baritone voice that Richard Burton eventually had. It’s a layered performance that should garner far more acclaim and shows how much potential Lawtey has for the future. Jones is as strong as always, with a reserved performance of a teacher who sees something in his pupil; so much happens beneath the surface that, when he is finally emotional toward the end, it is incredibly moving. 

One aspect that is unfortunate is how underused Lesley Manville is in the landlady role. She has a couple of good scenes, but for an actor of her calibre, she should be used far better, although she does often shine in smaller roles (in Queer, for example, where she pops up and steals the whole film).

Mr Burton effectively tells the story of how the miner’s son Richard Jenkins became the iconic Shakespearean actor Richard Burton, without steering too much into eyerolling biopic territory. There are certainly aspects that could have been cut for a leaner narrative, but the brilliant performances pull you in and have you engaged throughout. 

Mr Burton will be released in US theatres, on digital and on demand on March 30, 2026. The film is now available to watch on digital and VOD in the U.K. and Ireland.