+ Best Moviemaking Movie of the Year
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| Gemma Arterton looks relaxed and sweet on this war-and-nation-indicating, good-humored poster for Lone Scherfig's Their Finest |
Their Finest is the 9th theatrical feature from Danish master filmmaker Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners/Italiensk for Begyndere (2000)), written by Gaby Chiappe (EastEnders (2003-05)), based on the novel Their Finest Hour and a Half (2009) by Lissa Evans (Big Change for Stuart (2012)).
While the Blitz haunts London, our Welsh hero Catrin is recognized for her writing skills and female perspective and involved in the making of a pivotal propaganda effort of Britain's Ministry of Information. While the war takes its toll on everyone, a rousing and encouraging film takes shape.
The film within Their Finest is about the Dunkirk evacuation (26 May - 4 June 1940) during the Battle of Britain, which we will also see portrayed soon in Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated Dunkirk (2017). The cinephile may object to some 'details' concerning the film-in-the-film: At times it seems they shoot it in the inauthentic widescreen format that Their Finest utilizes, (though for the cinema scene in the end it is changed into the appropriate 4:3 format.) They are allowed to shoot in color, which is historically inappropriate; the film doesn't refer to an actual film, but it is hard to think of which British war film in color from around 1940 it would allude to. During shooting they also film outside without lighting, which would have been impossible due to the slow speed of Technicolor stock. This being said the filmmaking sections of Their Finest do throw poignant life on the way a film in some cases is shaped and loses and gains qualities due to the many 'chefs' involved and the unforeseeable X'es of production. One of the fine things of Their Finest is that it reminds us that filmmaking is important at all times (as a peaceful, creative, artful cooperation of many people to entertain and illuminate their peers), and essential at times of unrest and war. The tediousness, difficulty and compromises of filmmaking is pitched against its magic and the ultimate joy at the end of the ardor; grabbing the hearts and imaginations of an audience.
The film's not completely satisfying title is an abbreviation of Evans' novel's title, which refers to the running time of the film made in the story, which also hints to a famous quote by British prime minister Winston Churchill, which goes: "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'"
For me this was one of those films were within its first minute or so, I felt strongly that this was one that I would enjoy. And although the film doesn't soar to the heights of genius and emotional depths that it might have and doesn't get everything right, it still is an enjoyable and touching film.
Scherfig and Chiappe seem to have wanted to offer a female perspective on the period, its many trials and tribulations, which nevertheless develops into a romance. SPOILER In what seems a determination to stress this vision, - and with this the development of the young female protagonist into an independent and professionally active person and not 'just' one that catches a fellow to marry, - they kill off her cynically disposed, burgeoning lover before this gets to really develop. Their Finest depicts a time when women had to put up with a generally worse treatment in the West than we are used to today, thankfully, and to its honor it doesn't place the subjugation with one male villain but rather spread it out across several of them. Their chauvinism isn't debilitating although at times it is jarring to the modern ear, rather, it is treated as a social ill, a tragedy of its time that was changing for the better, undoubtedly helped along by the actions of people like our Catrin. SPOILER The film's greatest line by a longshot is a comeback Catrin makes to her cheating boyfriend and his paintings, which packs a fine punch.
Gemma Arterton (The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)) delivers; she is sweet, competent, sensitive and as so does well in the lead, - although I still perceive her as a bit mousy and not a new Carrie Mulligan-league actress for instance, (Mulligan became world-famous through Scherfig's great An Education (2009)). Sam Claflin (Me Before You (2016)) is authentic as her mentor/admirer screenwriting partner. Bill Nighy (About Time (2013)) has the funnest part in the film as an aging diva actor. At a critical point, he grows into a moral beacon in just a single line, and I don't think Nighy really believed that his character would grow like this, and I at least didn't.
The cast also benefits from small but good performances from the likes of Jack Huston (The Hot Potato (2012)), Richard E. Grant (Tooth (2004)), Henry Goodman (Green Street Hooligans (2005)), Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes (2009)), Jeremy Irons (Faeries (1999)) and Jake Lacy (Love the Coopers (2015)) as an American war hero turned (awful) actor. Lacy has his work cut out for him, as it is harder than one might think to play someone who can't act convincingly, but he mostly pulls it off.
The film doesn't soar to impressive heights visually but makes the best of its means and succeeds in being funny, insightful, a bit romantic and an effective weepie along the way. Scherfig imbues it with her keen knowledge of and fondness for the British culture, language and people.
Related posts:
Lone Scherfig: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
An Education (2009) - Scherfig, Hornby and Barber's tender and intelligent coming-of-age charmer
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
Italian for Beginners/Italiensk for Begyndere (2000) - A perfect gem of a Dogme romcom
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Estimated 10 mil. €, equal to approximately 11.28 mil. $
Box office: 11.8 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[Their Finest premiered 11 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 117 minutes. BBC Films developed the film and hired Scherfig. Shooting took place in Wales and England, including at Pinewood Studios and in London, starting September 2015. The film opened #34 in 4 theaters to a 76k $ opening weekend in North America, where it peaked at #19 and in 330 cinemas (different weeks) and grossed 3.6 mil. $. It has yet to open in one important market; Germany (6 July), but the film does not look like it will reach becoming a box office success. Their Finest is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Their Finest?
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