Joe's Palace a HBO Drama About a London Mansion

Spooky Palace the Setting for Story of Great Wealth and Loneliness

Nov 14, 2009

Joe's Palace is a HBO film, by Stephen Poliakoff, about a young man who cares for an empty London mansion and tells the story through innocent eyes.

Joe's Palace is a HBO movie about a young man who becomes a caretaker of a mansion in London, England and the story of the eccentric billionaire who owns the mansion. Michael Gambon stars as Elliott Graham, a strange and wealthy recluse, who owns a once grand London mansion. Stephen Poliakoff wrote and directed Joe's Palace and Capturing Mary, a companion film.

The reclusive and extremely wealthy Eliot Graham ( Michael Gambon) owned the empty mansion that Joe (Danny Lee Wynter) was hired to take care of every night. In his role as caretaker, Joe had the run of the empty mansion.

The mansion was an eerie and mysterious place, with a spooky and unknown past. Joe was enamoured of the palace left in his charge. His job consisted of sitting in the entry so that the palace was occupied, rather than being left empty. Elliott Graham lived across the street and the two men, the wealthy recluse and the teenaged son of a cleaner, form a unlikely friendship.

Richard (Rupert Penry- Jones) a young, married politician asked for permission to use the upstairs of the mansion for adulterous assignations with his also married lover Charlotte (Kelly Reilly). Elliott granted permission because he thinks it would be good for the mansion to have activity. Joe formed a close bond with each of the lovers, as they arrived and departed separately. When the love affair failed , the mansion seemed more empty than ever for young Joe.

Elliott Graham was on a quest to learn the history of the mansion and about his father, sensing that there was a sinister secret in his family past. Joe helped Elliott unlock the door to an unpleasant secret that Elliott could barely deal with. In order to unlock the secret, Joe and Elliot travel to a castle in the English countryside.

Joe's Palace is the story of urban isolation and loneliness in the big city. Imbued with naive innocence, Joe is a teenager that the adults felt comfortable speaking freely to and around. The story is told through the pure and innocent eyes of the young man, as his nonjudgmental viewpoint is shared with the audience.

Stephen Poliakoff is the writer, director and executive producer of Joe's Palace and Capturing Mary.

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