Their Finest (2016)
Country: GB/SW/FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 117m
Director: Lone Scherfig
Cast: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory
Synopsis:
The common law wife of a penniless artist in London gets work writing 'slop' (i.e. dialogue for female characters) for a new propaganda effort being funded by the Ministry of Defence. As she spars with the younger of the two male writers on the picture, and succeeds in saving more than scene while enhancing the 'woman's angle' at the heart of the story, she earns the respect and affection of more than one of her colleagues.
Review:
A novel that is essentially a documentary on the practicalities of filmmaking directed at the war effort is turned into a very filmic creature indeed: wartime nostalgia in the subject matter and accessories; comedic features promoted by the presence of Mr Nighy; a romantic subplot engineered between the two young writers who are clearly destined for mutual respect, nothing more. In short, there is much to enjoy here, not least Miss Arterton's performance, but not the sense of a work that hangs together as a whole.
Country: GB/SW/FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 117m
Director: Lone Scherfig
Cast: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory
Synopsis:
The common law wife of a penniless artist in London gets work writing 'slop' (i.e. dialogue for female characters) for a new propaganda effort being funded by the Ministry of Defence. As she spars with the younger of the two male writers on the picture, and succeeds in saving more than scene while enhancing the 'woman's angle' at the heart of the story, she earns the respect and affection of more than one of her colleagues.
Review:
A novel that is essentially a documentary on the practicalities of filmmaking directed at the war effort is turned into a very filmic creature indeed: wartime nostalgia in the subject matter and accessories; comedic features promoted by the presence of Mr Nighy; a romantic subplot engineered between the two young writers who are clearly destined for mutual respect, nothing more. In short, there is much to enjoy here, not least Miss Arterton's performance, but not the sense of a work that hangs together as a whole.
Country: GB/SW/FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 117m
Director: Lone Scherfig
Cast: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Eddie Marsan, Helen McCrory
Synopsis:
The common law wife of a penniless artist in London gets work writing 'slop' (i.e. dialogue for female characters) for a new propaganda effort being funded by the Ministry of Defence. As she spars with the younger of the two male writers on the picture, and succeeds in saving more than scene while enhancing the 'woman's angle' at the heart of the story, she earns the respect and affection of more than one of her colleagues.
Review:
A novel that is essentially a documentary on the practicalities of filmmaking directed at the war effort is turned into a very filmic creature indeed: wartime nostalgia in the subject matter and accessories; comedic features promoted by the presence of Mr Nighy; a romantic subplot engineered between the two young writers who are clearly destined for mutual respect, nothing more. In short, there is much to enjoy here, not least Miss Arterton's performance, but not the sense of a work that hangs together as a whole.