From renowned writer and director Stephen Poliakoff, I spotted this film purely because of the actors in the cast, but I was willing to give it a chance because it was rated well also. Basically in present day London, Michael Walton (Toby Regbo) is meeting his older cousins Walter Page (Christopher Lee) and Oliver (Corin Redgrave) to find out more about the sister of his grandmother Celia Keyes (Juno Temple), his great aunt Anne Keyes (Romola Garai). We are taken by flashback to 1939 where Anne is an actress in the beautiful British countryside, and this is at the time when the World War II was beginning. She is in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence (Stardust's Charlie Cox), but after the discovery of some secret recordings on vinyl records, containing conversations of political matter. Soon after hearing and revealing these, and trying to find the origins of the records, the perfect life of Anne starts slowly falling apart, including the death of a good friend, fleeing to London, and being imprisoned by her own father Sir Alexander Keyes (Bill Nighy) and others. The story is a little complicated, because you are not sure if she is going mad, and why it has happening to her, but she is seen alive and elderly by the end of the film in present day. Also starring David Tennant as Hector Haldane MP, Julie Christie as Aunt Elizabeth, Jeremy Northam as Balcombe, Eddie Redmayne as Ralph Keyes, Jenny Agutter as Maud and Notting Hill's Hugh Bonneville as Gilbert. I will admit first that I didn't understand the full story by about halfway through, but the performances by the all British cast, especially Garai, are very good, and there are some memorable moments, so it is certainly not a bad wartime drama. Good!
Review of Glorious 39
