back to browsing

The Man Who Bought Mustique

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

A double-edged portrait of a man and his obsessions, THE MAN WHO BOUGHT MUSTIQUE catches up with Colin Tennant otherwise known as Lord Glenconner, an aging British aristocrat whose claim to fame is the purchase of an exotic Caribbean island in the mid-1960s. With 45,000 pounds and a dream, Glenconner abandoned his ancestral seat in the Scottish highlands in 1956 for the idyllic shores of Mustique, which he promptly turned into a debaucherous party place for the rich. Playing host to the likes of Mick Jagger and David Bowie, Glenconner's fanciful empire was also dedicated in part to Princess Margaret, with whom the slightly daft and definitely delusional Lord harbors a lifelong obsession. Filmmakers Joseph Bullman and Vikram Jayanti are quickly derailed in their attempt to document Glenconner's return to the island for the first time since being forced to sell it in the mid-1980s. Revealing himself to be a prissy tyrant as well as a control freak, Tennant manhandles the filmmakers in vain attempts to glamorize his life. He openly airs his free-flowing and snobbish grievances against the current residents of Mustique. What emerges is a stunningly entertaining if insidiously disturbing portrait of the petty obsessions of the idyll rich.
Read More...
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 910019-D
Credits

Mick Jagger, David Bowie, David Robert Jones, Colin Tennant
Critic Reviews

"...[A] creepily fascinating documentary....Lord Glenconner is oddly charismatic..."
New York Times
"...A truly intriguing subject....[Lord Glenconner is] endlessly watchable....Tennant's oversized personality guarantees that this tropical excursion will never be less than entertaining..."
Box Office
"...[Tennant is] highly amusing and even witty....[He's] compulsively and hissably watchable..."
Hollywood Reporter