Their Finest [DVD] [2017]

Their Finest is a romantic comedy drama set during the blitz. Gemma Arterton is excellent as the welsh girl who finds her independence by fluking a writing job with the ministry of information, she and Sam Claflin [ the cynical screenwriter] make a charming would be couple. The film in atmosphere resembles John Boorman's Hope And Glory with ordinary life and relationships happening despite the war. Bill Nighy is excellent as the aging has been actor, if you read the cover of the DVD you would expect his performance to be comic, but his performance is both funny and poignant in places. Bill Nighy's performance is not the only one that is good in the movie, Richard E. Grant is also good as the man from the ministry and Rachael Stirling is great as the lesbian from the ministry! and then there is the cameo from Jeremy Irons doing his best Anthony Eden impersonation.So there are excellent performances but that is not the only thing to recommend this film it is beautifully shot the cinematography is excellent and the director knows how to frame a shot it makes the film a delight to watch. So far you would think that the war is completely ignored but in two scenes it intrudes gruesomely. So the film has wonderful performances and is ravishing to look at, it is well worth watching and it also has an unexpected conclusion.

This is an enthralling film for anyone interested in the period and locale, as well as in the processes of script writing and film making.Just recently I was watching a modern film, Hacksaw Ridge, which is meant to be particularly closely based on fact - yet just a quick bit of research was enough to show how the writer and director had altered the story in places to make it "neater" and conform to standard Hollywood clichés. Nothing has changed in this regard. (I might mention other films, such as the Imitation Game and the Theory of Everything.)Back to this film: the sense of period and the performances are very good. Nighy is Nighy. Claflin is prepared to make his character waspish and rather unlikeable - but believable - and Gemma Atterton also does a good job.It's a bit cheap in places and the street scenes tend to be back alleys.The shock event near the end of the film is sad, but I suppose it had to be, otherwise all the old clichés would, ironically, have been confirmed.

I'm not sure what happened to this film, it is a classic case of what could have been......It completely lacks direction- it meanders all over the place and that means that it isn't quite anything in the end- not particularly funny, tragic or romantic.Some of the social comment is a bit cliched, and the plot can be downright predictable, pedestrian and simply stupid in places.The Director desperately needed to grab the reigns of this film, decide on where it should go, and what it was trying to say, with the acting talent at hand, it wouldn't have been hard to make something more endearing, funny or involving.Sadly, they didn't, so we ended up with a disappointing mixed bag, of mildly entertaining nonsense.Sorry for the spoiler,but I still don't understand why Sam Claflin's character had to die?It didn't drive the narrative forward, served no major plot function and seemed to only serve the purpose of making the film, and Gemma Arterton, even more unhappy than they already were.Maybe he had somewhere else to be?.It's a wet afternoon film, where you don't need to think too hard, and where you can indulge yourself with some lightweight, stereotypical nostalgia.

I first received the Blu-Ray version of this film as a Christmas gift after placing it on my wish list, my wife and I liked it so much that I got it for my mum on DVD too, and she thoroughly enjoyed it as well.Bill Nighy rarely disappoints me, and although a slightly more understated role in this story, he plays the ageing actor Ambrose Hilliard remarkably well. He injects a certain amount of humour into the role but essentially it is a more thoughtful role than comedic.Gemma Arterton plays an up and coming screenwriter whose boyfriend, a struggling artist, doesn't respond terribly well to her new found success; she is employed to write scenes that will amongst other things peak the interest of female audiences. Sam Claflin plays her fellow screenwriter who feels a little threatened by her presence and initially doubts her abilities.Their Finest is a heartwarming and romantic film which is full of mixed emotions that will have you both laughing and crying. It is a perfect film for a Sunday morning or a time when you want something touching to watch.

Watching the first part of this film my initial reaction was to turn it off; but when the 'action' moved to the coast it was as though the film had changed directors with the film changing for the better. Better lit, better sound and the cast seemingly making a better job all round.This isn't a bad film it's more of a pleasant film for a Sunday afternoon, it's the sort of film that would probably been made by Ealing at their prime except that they would have made a better job of it.It would be interesting to know how the streamed version compares with the blue ray and the cinema versions for quality.