Great Escape will undoubtedly entertain a certain type of British filmgoer who enjoys broad fish and chip comedies, especially those starring Michael Caine.
Caine plays Bernard “Bernie” Jordan, an 89-year-old Second World War veteran who made headlines in 2014 when he disappeared from his Hove care home. Unable to obtain official tickets for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, he crossed the English Channel alone, walker and all, without telling anyone except his wife.
It’s a light, touching story, and Kane gives Bernie an unremittingly irreverent, fun-loving attitude and unwavering British reserve.
There have been rumors for some time that this would be Kane’s last film. Although this was not true, it was the last film of his co-star Glenda Jackson, who died in June. What an ultimate success this is. Jackson plays Renee, Jordan’s wife, who encourages him to have fun without her (she’s too sick).
Jackson is enthusiastic, but doesn’t feel like the film is patronizing Rene. Her body groans, but her face rolls her eyes at her caregivers and is full of love and care for her husband. She has a collection of theatrical oohs and ahs that may come from other people too often, but Jackson makes them feel real and lived-in.
Perhaps Jackson’s attractiveness is why the film makes the mistake of spending too much time on Renee. Memories tell the story of the couple’s enduring love for each other, as well as memories of the war, the terror in Normandy and the fear for the women left behind.
These scenes are wonderful in their own way (young Bernie and Rene are played by the well-cast Will Fletcher and Laura Marcus), but they also break the film a little, much like the breakup of a modern couple.
Renee doesn’t really have to do much to wait for Bernie to get home safely; Ultimately, the script gives her rather mild angina attacks and some unlikely regret about letting Bernie cross the English Channel “again”, but that feels like a plot device.
Meanwhile, Bernie’s emotional journey picks up steam as he avoids the garish trappings of a wake in France, befriends another British veteran (John Standing) and some Germans, and visits the grave of a fallen comrade.
The film switches too casually between themes that need more attention – war, old age, true love – to be truly great, but it does have some great moments, especially involving grieving veterans. Slow and sometimes almost silent scenes reveal the dark underbelly of this cruel and moody facade – scenes in which the faces, not the memories, do all the work.
Source: I News
I am Mario Pickle and I work in the news website industry as an author. I have been with 24 News Reporters for over 3 years, where I specialize in entertainment-related topics such as books, films, and other media. My background is in film studies and journalism, giving me the knowledge to write engaging pieces that appeal to a wide variety of readers.