If you’re in the mood for an entertaining but insightful British film, Their Finest covers some interesting components of Britain during the war.
Their Finest is director Lone Scherfig’s latest British drama. The new film has been adapted from Lissa Evans 2009 novel Their Finest Hour and a Half.
Their Finest tells the tale of a British Ministry of Information film team that make a movie about the Dunkirk evacuation during the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz in the 1940s. This time period was the beginning of the most confusing time for British cinema. There was a time where it was unknown whether British film-making would be a profession that lasted. The film paints a picture of how unpredictable film making is and how nothing is really under one person’s control.
After the bombs fell on London and everything citizen’s knew to be, societal classes were a thing of the past. While the government was using film as a source of propaganda, audiences were more interesting in watching these real-life unfoldings of the war that was happening around them and less interested in the made up Hollywood versions of life.
Catrin Cole, played by Gemma Arterton, is a female film maker who is recruited by the British Ministry as a ‘slop’ scriptwriter with the task to bring a ‘woman’s touch’ to these morale-boosting propaganda films being produced. She’s quickly noticed by a film producer Buckley, who is played by Sam Clafin. The pair join forces, with a makeshift cast and crew, to produce a film that will warm the hearts of a nation and convince America to join the war. In a time period where woman weren’t greatly accepted into the work force, Cole’s husband looks down upon the work she is making.
The film follows the tracks of how you would expect every film based in the 40s to. After Cole discovers that she isn’t being employed to be a secretary, she’s flat out told that she would be receiving less pay than her male colleagues. Bill Nighy plays Ambrose Hilliard/ Uncle Frank and disregards Cole when they begin to work together. His character brought much appreciated humour to a film that could have been all doom and gloom. As they all work together, Cole is more respected by the males she’s working with when they begin to realise just how talented she is.
The Technicolour of the 1940s is simulated to near perfection. Scherfig included little details about the Britain we know today to create authenticity throughout the film. Little tidbits of “Have a cup of tea” and the setting sun in mid-afternoon made the film feel real, in a sense.
Their Finest is at Australian cinemas now. Take a look at the trailer below: