Glorious 39 (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'Glorious 39' (written & directed by Stephen Poliakoff) tells a mysterious tale set around an aristocratic British family on the eve of WWII. The film starts & ends in current day England, where a young Michael (Toby Regbo) seeks out his eldest living relatives (Christopher Lee, Colin Redgrave) to ask about the disappearance of his great aunt Anne from nearly 70 yrs. ago. The plot then jumps back to the summer of 1939 where Romola Garai (of Atonement) stars as aforementioned Anne; the adopted daughter of Conservative politician Alexander Keyes (Bill Nighy) & his mild-mannered wife, Maud (Jenny Agutter), who went on to have 2 children of their own (Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple). Life in their idyllic countryside estate 'appears' fine & dandy ...
Anne is a budding actress. She dotes on her Aunt Elizabeth (Julie Christie). And her father is keen on preserving England's traditional way of life (though, Germany has something to say about that). But trouble starts brewing when an outspoken friend of the family dies under strange circumstances {suicide, my ass} ... and Anne stumbles upon secret pro-appeasement government recordings that were being stored at their family home. War breaks out. Anne reveals her secret recordings to her family; some of whom work at England's Foreign Office. And when their inquiries come to an unlikely dead end, she decides to investigate on her own; turning to her boyfriend (Charlie Cox) & an actor friend (Hugh Bonneville) for aid. More "suicides", detainings, melodrama & betrayals ensue.
This film is little more than passable, for me. As a whole, it's an elegant production, but somewhat stodgy, and too serious-minded (given that it's a made-up story revolving around the Holocaust). The set-up for the film is highly intriguing. The atmosphere that is established is off-beat; almost Hitchcockian (loved the off-camera angles). The period sets & costumes are swell. And the performances - notably, Romola Garai - go down easy. But as mentioned, this is an "original" story that's stuffed into an on-the doorstep-of-WWII framework. And the tone of the film goes a bit mad cap in the final 1/2 hour. In other words: improbable.
Actually, I'd say the best segment of the movie was the mid section when things really get rolling (slow pacing early on). The air of menace is potent. There's a scary scene where Anne is left to watch a baby in a carriage. She nods off, wakes up & can't find the baby. There's a strange scene involving women passed out on a ballroom floor; tired from the prior evening's festivities. And there's a terrifying sequence involving the euthanizing of pet animals. There had been a slow, but semi-interesting build-up to events throughout the course of the movie. But ultimately, the story does not live-up to the early promise.
The film is aided greatly by Romola Garai's 'I don't know who to trust!' portrayal. She's fragile. She's in the dark. So are we. And it was nice being in her company through all the dark moments. Every other thespian on board is stellar (Christopher Lee, Julie Christie, Jenny Agutter, Colin Redgrave, Hugh Bonneville, & Jeremy Northam - playing a sinister Home Office official). That said, I got the feeling throughout that while the actors spoke their lines assuredly ... they weren't always attuned to where the plot was going. There seemed to be a slight disconnect; and I don't think it was intentional. Ultimately, 'Glorious 39' is a mildly enjoyable conspiracy thriller; something to watch on a lazy Sunday. The central idea is neat. But the movie's ethereal strangeness and late-breaking wackiness gives way to a flaccid, straightforward, "so what" ending that could have been something special.
Anne is a budding actress. She dotes on her Aunt Elizabeth (Julie Christie). And her father is keen on preserving England's traditional way of life (though, Germany has something to say about that). But trouble starts brewing when an outspoken friend of the family dies under strange circumstances {suicide, my ass} ... and Anne stumbles upon secret pro-appeasement government recordings that were being stored at their family home. War breaks out. Anne reveals her secret recordings to her family; some of whom work at England's Foreign Office. And when their inquiries come to an unlikely dead end, she decides to investigate on her own; turning to her boyfriend (Charlie Cox) & an actor friend (Hugh Bonneville) for aid. More "suicides", detainings, melodrama & betrayals ensue.
This film is little more than passable, for me. As a whole, it's an elegant production, but somewhat stodgy, and too serious-minded (given that it's a made-up story revolving around the Holocaust). The set-up for the film is highly intriguing. The atmosphere that is established is off-beat; almost Hitchcockian (loved the off-camera angles). The period sets & costumes are swell. And the performances - notably, Romola Garai - go down easy. But as mentioned, this is an "original" story that's stuffed into an on-the doorstep-of-WWII framework. And the tone of the film goes a bit mad cap in the final 1/2 hour. In other words: improbable.
Actually, I'd say the best segment of the movie was the mid section when things really get rolling (slow pacing early on). The air of menace is potent. There's a scary scene where Anne is left to watch a baby in a carriage. She nods off, wakes up & can't find the baby. There's a strange scene involving women passed out on a ballroom floor; tired from the prior evening's festivities. And there's a terrifying sequence involving the euthanizing of pet animals. There had been a slow, but semi-interesting build-up to events throughout the course of the movie. But ultimately, the story does not live-up to the early promise.
The film is aided greatly by Romola Garai's 'I don't know who to trust!' portrayal. She's fragile. She's in the dark. So are we. And it was nice being in her company through all the dark moments. Every other thespian on board is stellar (Christopher Lee, Julie Christie, Jenny Agutter, Colin Redgrave, Hugh Bonneville, & Jeremy Northam - playing a sinister Home Office official). That said, I got the feeling throughout that while the actors spoke their lines assuredly ... they weren't always attuned to where the plot was going. There seemed to be a slight disconnect; and I don't think it was intentional. Ultimately, 'Glorious 39' is a mildly enjoyable conspiracy thriller; something to watch on a lazy Sunday. The central idea is neat. But the movie's ethereal strangeness and late-breaking wackiness gives way to a flaccid, straightforward, "so what" ending that could have been something special.