The amazing sets and production design all but dwarf the drama in this story of London life in the 1660s. Robert Downey Jr's position as the court physician who eventually sees the error of the ways of debauchery gives the makers of the film the opportunity to run the whole gamut of this turbulent decade, from Downey's sham marriage to one of the king's mistresses, to his (unlikely) rehabilitation through madhouse, plague and fire. Deliberately evocative of old paintings, the film is finely detailed, both in its depiction of London's riverside life and the ornate splendour of the king's palace. Downey, English accent firmly in place, is well in character throughout as the man who travels from physician to fop to fool and back again. Emotive moments towards the end when Downey battles the plague give the film an extra lift. Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Hugh Grant, Ian McKellen and Meg Ryan all make effective contributions to a film that remains consistently impressive until tailing off a little disappointingly at the end.

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