Their Finest

source: Their Finest

(RATING: ☆☆☆☆ out of 5 ) GRADE: B THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED. IN BRIEF: A well acted and thoroughly entertaining war story. SYNOPSIS: During World War II, a secretary joins a movie crew to make a propaganda film about Dunkirk. JIM'S REVIEW: Let's face it, with a film entitled Their Finest, the bar is set mighty high. And while the film is not the finest film you will ever see, it is still a fine film worthy of one's attention. It boasts very good acting, a literate script, strong direction and period details, and an intriguing premise. Not all of these elements works as a whole, but the parts are genuinely compelling. A movie production crew wants to tell "a story that will inspire the world". These are desperate times, in 1940 war-town London. Public spirits is low and the government wants the entertainment industry to provide a more positive uplift to the doom and glory that is an everyday occurrence for the English folk by creating a propaganda film to unite the country. Thrown into the mix of creative souls is Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton), a former secretary hired as a screenwriter to bring a more authentic woman's point of view. It is there she meets Tom Buckley (Sam Clafin), a cynical talented writer, although she is involved with Ellis Cole (Jack Huston) an egotistical artist. But duty calls and Catrin has found her calling, both professionally and personally. Also on the set is Phyl Moore (Rachael Stirling), a tough-as-nails Rosalind Russell type, Carl Lundbeck (Jake Lacy), an American war hero turned actor ala Audie Murphy (with even less talent), and a washed-up matinée idol, Ambrose Hilliard (the reliable Bill Nighy). Adding more prestige to this movie-within-a-movie are such steadfast British stars as Richard E. Grant, Jeremy Irons, and Eddie Marsan, although their contributions are mere cameo walk-ons. All of the actors are superb, even if some of their roles are underwritten. The film, when always entertaining, is in need of a few rewrites. Some scenes seems out of place and supporting characters lack depth. It feels as if there are two films vying for the moviegoer's attention: the down-on-his-luck aging actor in search of a hit, and a tender love story about two writers who find each other. While both are interesting and acted to maximum effect, the plot rarely gels, especially with some contrivances toward the third act. The overall mood varies from comedic moments to pure melodrama and then serious wartime drama. Lone Scherfig solidly directs but she doesn't find the right tone and Gaby Chaippe's screenplay needs to show more realism and edginess rather than seeing the story through rose-colored glasses. Still, the chemistry between the ill-matched lovers is palpable and Ms. Arterton and Mr. Clafin make a charming duo. Add the self-effacing subtlety of Mr. Nighy to add a taste of the bittersweet and Their Finest is a refreshing change of pace, especially from the usual dregs of the pre-summer movie season.

So, here we have a production clearly in the 'market for older film goers'. Give 'em a bit of nostalgia and a few pretty people to look at. No rude words, just a hint of sex and, if you can get away with it, some bare flesh. Make a couple of historical references, use some old news reel, Bingo, it has to be a hit! Or, so seems to be the thinking. This film, though, is a massive dud. We have a crowd of indistinguishable characters making heavy work out of a school boy story idea using Wikipedia for fact checking. Get this, ye olde Britons were known for their 'bad' teeth and ye olde Yanks for their 'brilliant' teeth. This 'knowledge' is directly referenced in this film but, those of us who know what is being referenced in the fact, can't spot a single instance of the crooked toothed amongst any of the actors. So, how does the straight toothed American stand out???? Where are the short back and sides and Brilliantined male hair styles? We see these errors because the story supposedly being told in this production is so off and unconvincing there is nothing more to do as you twiddle your thumbs waiting for the whole damn thing to come to an end. One final quibble, Staffordshire bull terriers were not and are not associated with Londoners during the war...its like having a gorilla dancing in the foreground in psychology tests. Crap.

Shows life under the Blitz, how movies get made (sell out, kiss butt, make up stuff as you go along) and how Women were viewed in England in WW!!. We laughed and cried where we were supposed to. Bill Nighy deserves Award Consideration for showing "Acting" is an Art. I will seek out the makers of this Film and hope to enjoy their work.

"They're afraid they won't be able to put us back in the box when this is over, and it makes them belligerent." Phyl Moore (Rachael Stirling) Phyl is spot on about the focus of Their Finest, a period piece (1940) about the British film industry's part in supporting WWII. The heart of this sometimes comic romance is Catrin's (Gemma Arterton) emergence from secretary to writer in a time when women were expected to be no more than secretaries. Of course, they would no more be "in the box" after the war. Comic moments are plentiful, especially when aging actor Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy at his best) is on screen. He is in a company producing a propaganda film to support the war and perhaps induce the USA to enter the war. Although seeing the inventive ways the industry created special effects and worked through themes would be a reason for a cinephile to see this film, the higher takeaway is the growing empowerment of Catrin, and all women, not just in Britain but everywhere. She has a growing affection for fellow writer Ellis (Jack Huston—Yes, that Huston grandson), slow and so British reserved that it is one of the best romances of the year. Although I have reservations about a woman needing a man to be successful, this romance is authentic because it grows like ripening fruit, no passion or flowery bombast to speed it along. Beyond the romance and the mechanics of early filmmaking, the art of writing is satisfactorily treated, in fact one of the first times I have seen it depicted as a communal effort. Besides, I love seeing ideas and dialogue worked out among the team without overly-dramatic flourishes but rather with the kind of quiet discovery that may have occurred with any successful team effort. Their Finest is part old-fashioned filmmaking with sentiment and sense overlaid by a progressive theme showing the ascendancy of women in WWII beyond "Rosie the Riveter." You'll cry a little, you'll laugh a little, and you'll nod your head a little in admiration of the contributions made in big wars by this marvelous art form, film.

From the start it was simply dull. The people I was with agreed with me and seeing the blank faces of those leaving the film was more entertaining than the film. Discussing it afterwards, I gather that the ending tried to draw out some emotion but fell flat too. The idea was good and could have been a great comedy. What a missed opportunity!

Danish director Lone Scherfig (An Education, Italian for Beginners, One Day) knows her way around British humor, feminism, WW II, and the art and at times chaos of making a movie. Based on a novel by Lissa Evans and adapted for the screen by Gaby Chiappe, THEIR FINEST is a brilliant little film about making a film under duress and how all members of the film crew – stars to stuntmen and cameramen – interact. It is also a fine punch in the ribs for British views of Americans – not only during the 1940s but now also! Caitlin Cole (Gemma Atherton) lives with struggling and wounded Welsh painter Ellis Cole (Jack Huston) and they strive to exist on a minimal income. During the London Blitz of World War II, Caitlin is recruited by the British Ministry of Information to write scripts for propaganda films that the public will actually watch without scoffing. In the line of her new duties, Cole investigates the story of two young women who supposedly piloted a boat in the Dunkirk Evacuation. Although it proved a complete misapprehension, the story becomes the basis for a fictional film with some possible appeal. As Cole labors to write the script with her new colleagues such as Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin), veteran actor Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy) must accept that his days as a leading man are over as he joins the project. Together, this disparate trio must struggle against such complications such as sexism against Cole, jealous relatives, the drive to make the American movie public react n support of England in the war effort, and political interference from the Secretary of War (Jeremy Irons) in their artistic decisions even as London endures the bombs of the enemy. In the face of those challenges, they share a hope to contribute something meaningful in this time of war and in their own lives. The film has complex characterizations (Rachel Stirling is brilliant in what at first seems a minor but controlling role, Eddie Marsan has a meaningful cameo, Helen McCrory as Eddie Marsan's meddling sister) and the entire supporting cast is superb. Yes, it is a film about making a film, but in the setting chosen it works splendidly well.

Their Finest (2016) is one of several recent films that remediate women's conspicuous absence from war history. It stands tall in the war film genre, as well as in period drama and feminist film. With beautiful cinematography, it nostalgically evokes the tensions and deprivations of London in 1940. At the same time, it provides an instructive insight into the making of a war propaganda movie in the early days of film history. The two-part plot line is based on the experiences of young Welshwoman Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) who unexpectedly lands a movie scriptwriting job in the British Ministry of Information. The first half of Their Finest is about the planning of a movie for boosting morale and support for the war; the second is its actual filming. The thread of continuity is Catrin's relationships; first with her war-damaged artist lover Ellis Cole (Jack Huston) and then her senior scriptwriter Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin). Catrin has been hired to write "the slops", a term used to describe women's interests and views. In wartime, things change unexpectedly and the movie shifts from an emphasis on women, to a general rallying call to the nation, and then to an appeal to America to join the war. The casting of stars shifts from heroines to a past-his-prime actor Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy) to an American fighter pilot who turns out to have appalling acting skills. By the end of Their Finest, we are watching the finished movie being screened in public having witnessed how it was made and the effect it has on the people involved. The making of a war movie within a war film is an original and clever cinematic construction. The storyboarding, casting, and filming of the movie provide self-reflexive insights into movie-making itself. This is a multi-genre film, combining war and filmmaking history, period drama and romance, but it's inaccurate to call it a comedy. Most of the humour comes from Bill Nighy's portrayal of the pompous British artistic classes and his fading light as an actor. In an otherwise well-directed film, Nighy often overshadows its star, Gemma Arterton, who is the film's beating heart and champion for women. Nighy has that rare ability to fill any space into which he walks, but this means that the film's excellent cast shine only when he is off screen. There are many reasons for liking this film, including its originality, acting and filming. It poignantly captures the fragility of life in the London Blitz with detailed attention to nostalgic sets, costumes, and mannerisms of an era. The colour palette's de-saturated tonality reflects the sombre mood of the nation and the narrative covers a lot of ground. It is ironic, however, that a film dedicated to recognising the role of women in history should be so under the comedic influence of a veteran male actor. Despite its efforts to be otherwise, this will be remembered as a Bill Nighy film. For many, that's not a bad thing.

What was this? The story line was completely uninteresting, the characters, their concerns and emotions, I couldn't relate to any of it and I don't know what life one must have lived to be able to do so. It was soooooo slow. I gave up halfway.. because I couldn't care less about how the story would end. It was really about nothing. The most boring movie I have seen in a very long while.

This film is a story of the scriptwriters who produced movies during World War 2 to show to the British public, so, as other reviewers have said, it is a film within a film. However, I did not find the overall experience very satisfying. The acting is fine by many of the players, although there was a tendency to caricature which I found unnecessary. I should emphasize that there are some highlights too, including the rescue, and a scene in a cinema, both towards the end of the film. Very good! Overall though, I felt that the continuity of the story lines did not work all that clearly, and, in particular, there are a few "surprises" in the script which I felt were a negative to the flow of the plot. It seems odd to say (given that there are two film scripts within the story) that I think the script writing needed more work.