You’ll hear a lot about how good Anthony Hopkins is. One life. And he is truly excellent as the late Sir Nicholas Winton, an ordinary stockbroker forced into action in the run-up to World War II, bringing 669 Czech-Jewish children to safety in Britain. Hopkins plays the role without any flamboyance, writhing when someone tries to steal the spotlight from him, suffering as he remembers those he couldn’t save, and quietly marveling when forced to acknowledge the recognition of his own greatness.
But it’s also Johnny Flynn as Wynton Jr. who helps carry the burden. One life, a film based on the book by Wynton’s daughter Barbara. Lucinda Coxon and Nick Drake’s more traditional screenplay divides events between 1988 Maidenhead, where radio broadcasts starkly warn us of modern parallels with refugees, and 1938, when Czech refugee camps explode after the annexation of the Sudetenland.
When Winton sees the camps with his own eyes during a short trip to Prague, he decides that something needs to be done. Despite the initial cynicism of their tough British colleagues (including the excellent Romola Garai as Doreen), they initially began evacuating the children and, thanks to the persistence, enormous work ethic and courage of Wynton’s acting mother, they obtained visas for every nursing home for them. the charm of Helena Bonham Carter.
Perhaps we’ve all just seen too many war films, but the film (director James Hawes’s first feature) has a definite TV feel to it as it progresses through its schedule – it’s predictable and slow in places. despite the high stakes.
However, Flynn, who looks nothing like Hopkins, does a fantastic job of looking exactly like him without making much of an impression. Both come across as deeply sensitive, ruthlessly meticulous people with small egos. And no matter how many war films you watch, it is almost unbearable to see hundreds of little hands waving from train cars to crying parents they will never see again.
Ultimately though One life builds on the strength of its third act, in which Winton’s evacuation documents (which he provided in hopes of furthering not himself but the refugee cause as a whole) are adopted by the TV show That is life.
Some viewers may remember the remarkable episode (the real one can still be seen on YouTube) in which presenter Esther Rantzen pulls a rabbit out of a hat, causing a humiliated Wynton in the audience to appreciate what he is doing with great panache. did. It’s incredibly moving, and despite the imitative beginning, the film also makes its monstrosity clear to the audience. Not perfect, but still a special story.
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.