Tag: Johnny Flynn

ONE LIFE – Review

Anthony Hopkins as Nicholas Winton in ONE LIFE. Courtesy of Bleecker Street

The moving ONE LIFE throws a spotlight on a British man, Nicholas Winton, who has been called the “British Schindler,” saved far more than one life in the early days of WWII. Anthony Hopkins plays the older Nicholas Winton, who in 1938 had organized a kindertransport, an effort to get hundreds of children, mostly Jewish, out of Prague ahead of the Nazis, but whose heroic efforts were not widely known or recognized until 1988, when he appeared on a popular British TV talk show.

The children and their families had fled to Prague after Hitler seized the Sudetenland, a German-speaking area in the north of the then Czechoslovakia, in 1938, the beginning of Hitler’s plan for conquest. In the infamous appeasement of Hitler, European countries, including Britain, had agreed to Hitler’s demands and ceded the Sudetenland to Germany, with a false promise of peace. ONE LIFE tells the remarkable story of Winton’s heroic efforts to rescue these refugee children but it also depicts the late-in-life recognition for his seemingly-impossible effort that saved hundreds of children.

The idea that the rescue was impossible was the first obstacle Nicholas Winton faced in saving those children. Johnny Flynn plays the younger Nicky Winton who we meet in flashback sequences, along with Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Nicky’s feisty, determined mother Babette (nicknamed Babi), who was among the many people who helped save those young lives. The cast also includes Jonathan Pryce, as the older version of one of Nicky’s friends who helped with the rescue, and Lena Olin as the older Nicky’s wife Grete.

Based on the book “If It’s Not Impossible…: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton” by Nicholas Winton’s daughter, Barbara Winton, ONE LIFE is an emotional film, an uplifting survivors story, with dramatic scenes in both the pre-war rescue portion and the later 1988 portion, when the world – and in some cases the now-grown rescued children – finally learned what the modest Winton done in 1938. In 1988, the modest, reserved retired banker Nicholas Winton was an unlikely guest on the pop-culture British TV show “That’s Life!” and the world finally learned of his remarkable deeds. The historic drama is directed by BAFTA-nominated James Hawes.

Of course, Winton was not the only person who made the rescue possible but he was the last one left alive in 1988 when the heroic deeds finally came to light. And it was Winton who put in motion the rescue that others told him was impossible, although significant roles were played by Trevor Chadwick (Alex Sharp) and Doreen Warriner (Romola Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia, who helped to rescue hundreds of predominantly Jewish children before Nazi occupation closed the borders.

ONE LIFE opens with retired banker Nicholas Winton (Hopkins) living a quiet, comfortable life in rural England. As they await the birth of their first grandchild, his wife Grete (Lena Olin) encourages Nicky to finally clear out all the clutter and old files in his overstuffed home office, to make a little more room in the house. The contents of one worn, old briefcase is something she knows will be hard for husband Nicky to part with – perhaps to a library or research center.

We learn that the briefcase has a “scrapbook” that is a record of what Winton did during WWII, when he decides to tackle the long-delayed task while his wife is on an out-of-town trip. Nicky thinks the scrapbook is important and should be preserved but he doesn’t want it stashed away in a library. Instead, he wants it to be somewhere people can access it and learn from it, especially charitable groups facing other near-impossible tasks.

In flashbacks to 1938, we meet young Nicky Winton (Flynn), a low-level accountant with a London investment banking firm, who has a strong commitment to doing good works, as his mother Babi Winton (Bonham Carter) raised him to do. Nicky has taken time off work to travel to Prague to help with refugees who fled there when the Nazis took over the Sudetenland, despite the rising danger of Nazi invasion.. As soon as he arrives, Doreen Warriner (Garai) and Trevor Chadwick (Sharp) put Nicky to work organizing the files of their organization, the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia, with Nicky cracking that he’s “good at desk.”

A visit to the squalid, crowded neighborhood where the refugees are living changes everything for Nicky, when he meets some children suffering there. Moved, he wants to do something to help. When he asks Warriner how the children will survive the coming winter, she grimly replies “They won’t.”

Although Warriner tells Nicky that saving them is practically impossible, Nicky is determined to try to get them out of the country. “If something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do it,” Winton says.

The first problem they encounter is getting lists of refugee children. There are several organizations helping the refugees and they fear of lists of the children will fall into Nazi hands and so they won’t share them. Frustrated, Nicky eventually meets with the leader of one group, Rabbi Hertz (Samuel Finzi). The rabbi is wary of trusting Winton, who was raised in the Church of England, but when Winton reveals that he had Jewish grandparents on both sides, the rabbi decides to trust Winton. That opens the door for others to also cooperate.

With things underway Prague, Nicky calls on his resourceful mother Babi back in London to help with getting permits and finding foster families for the children.

The film moves back and forth in time between wartime 1938 and the film’s present in 1988, when what Winton did during the war finally comes to light. Both portions are moving and have emotional moments, but the ending of the 1988 portion makes the film particularly uplifting.

Anthony Hopkins is splendid as the modest, kindly Nicholas Winton, who assumes that the documents he has preserved are important but does not see himself or what he did that way. The scrapbook records in detail the people and actions of the kindertransport, and even photos, but Nicky thinks it is mostly of interest to other charitable organizations. Always quick to credit the efforts of others, Nicky doesn’t see what he did as heroic but instead is wracked with remorse about the children he couldn’t save when the Nazis suddenly shut down the border.

Hopkins does a lovely job portraying Winton’s quiet determination and appealing modesty, as well as his sweet fondness for children. The rest of the cast is also excellent, including Johnny Flynn as young Nicky. Helen Bonham Carter is particularly delightful as Nicky’s strong-willed, sharp-tongued mother Babi, and her performance adds a needed bit of humor. The scenes with Hopkins as the very serious Winton appearing on the light-weight, pop culture talk show “That’s Life” also offer a touch of comic relief, although it leads to a three-hankie but perfect ending.

The photography is lovely, and the attention to period details in both time periods makes immersion in the story easy. The colors are warm but muted, and the scenes in the refugee settlement with the ragged children, some with pleading eyes and others with irrepressible childish energy, are Dickensian, touching and heartbreaking.

ONE LIFE is a polished, moving period drama featuring a fine cast, highlighting an inspiring story that should be better known, about a man who deserves recognition for saving hundreds of children, simply because he refused to believe it was impossible.

ONE LIFE opens Friday, Mar. 15, in theaters.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

CORDELIA- Review

So, what’s one of the hazards of living in a big city? Most folks might immediately think of crime or perhaps trying to earn enough to keep up with the high rents. Strangely, a lot of city dwellers deal with isolation, that sibling to loneliness. And even though the streets are packed with bustling commuters and shoppers, there are those who internally “cut themselves off”, going about a routine before locking their doors and almost hibernating, Then there’s an element that accelerates this behavior, say a traumatic incident or accident. This is all at the center of a new psychological thriller set in one of the world’s biggest population centers, London. Even though it focuses on a “flat” that’s the home of two sisters, a deep loneliness haunts the one named CORDELIA.


Oddly, our introduction with her is when she sweetly gives up her seat on a packed subway train (over there it’s “The Tube”) to a standing blind passenger. It turns out that this is a “flashback dream”, one that’s more of a nightmare, which causes Cordelia ( Antonia Campbell-Hughes) to wake up with a muffled scream while drenched in sweat. Her twin sister Caroline rushes into her bedroom, pulls back the curtains to let the sun cleanse the space, and offers to draw her bath. She remarks about the cello solo that wafts in from the upper flat, a sound that seems to soothe the still frazzled Cordelia. She bids Caroline adieu, puts their cat Hunter outside, and walks briskly to a theatre near Covent Garden where she’s an understudy in a new production of “King Lear” (as Cordelia, ‘natch). While grabbing a spot of tea, she sees a handsome young man toting a cello case. He recognizes her since he’s her upstairs neighbor Frank (Johnny Flynn). They meet for drinks later that evening and share a cab back to their building. After heading to their respective flats, she is caught off-guard by a caller who hangs up on her “landline”. As Caroline is spending the weekend with a new beau, Cordelia calls on Frank for protection after a voice on a later call asks why she’s closed her drapes (it’s a slightly below ground-level space). Frank finds nobody “creeping about” and tries to comfort the haunted young woman. Thus begins a tentative romance, one that may end abruptly if they reveal the secrets that help them survive another day and keep their inner demons at bay.

The very complex and demanding title role is superbly brought to life by the talented Campbell-Hughes. It’s difficult enough to play twins, though Caroline is absent for the last hour or so, she makes us believe that she’s two sisters with distinct individual personalities rather than merely “talking with herself” aided with a bit of subtle VFX trickery. But the “meat of the tale” rests with Cordelia, who Campbell-Hughes first conveys as a fragile, timid flower who just might break apart when a strong wind swoops in. Slowly we see her stand straight, rather than being stooped over in advance of crouching into a “ball” to brace herself against the pummeling of everyday life. And just when we think of Cordelia as a mousey victim, an inner switch is “flipped” and she’s a snarling, sexy “beast” looking to pounce on her tormentors. To a lesser degree, Flynn’s Frank also has a moment of metamorphosis as the sensitive rom-com “dreamboat’ from upstairs is revealed to be a man of mystery, as he begins a game of passive-aggressive courting with Cordelia. Is he the noble protector or could he be a master manipulator? But, this isn’t a two-person character study. Michael Gambon has a nifty cameo as Caroline’s addled, chatty elderly neighbor, while Joel Fry is the new boyfriend who just can’t wrap his mind around dating a twin (or perhaps he’s hiding some filthy fantasies).

Adrian Shergold directs the film with several interesting visual flourishes, making good use of the main “maze-like” flat, following Cordelia as she often switches personalities mid-stride. The script he co-wrote with title star Campbell-Hughes, doesn’t “lay everything out”, instead it doles out backstories in small chunks, encouraging the viewers to piece everything together. And though most of it is in the twin’s home, the film never feels claustrophobic, although the story is opened up (sadly, a train trip to the country just feels like a “wheel-spinning” interlude). The London streets and neighborhoods look splendid, especially a trek about the theatre district (perhaps a few more scenes of Cordelia at work would reveal of bit more of her wounded persona to us). And as I noted the performances are strong, but unfortunately the final act feels far too abrupt, leaving several threads hanging, and making us ponder the reality of what preceded it (Cordelia is the epitome of the “unreliable narrator”). But if you’re looking for a thriller that’s a real “slow burn” with a duo flipping back and forth as prey and predator, then CORDELIA may just be your cup of somewhat curdled tea.

2.5 Out of 4


CORDELIA opens in select theatres and can be streamed on most apps and platfroms as a Video-on-Demand beginning on Frdiay, May 20, 2022

OPERATION MINCEMEAT – Review

Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu and Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Cholmondeley, in OPERATION MINCEMEAT. Photo Credit: Giles Keyte/See-Saw Films, Courtesy of Netflix

“Truth is stranger than fiction” stories are often the best, and the true story behind the British WWII tale OPERATION MINCEMEAT is plenty strange, and surprisingly impressive in its audacity and brilliant execution. Colin Firth (THE KING’S SPEECH) and Matthew Macfadyen (TV’s “Succession,” PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) star as a pair of WWII British intelligence agents with an odd idea for a ruse to plant false information, aimed at Hitler, about a planned Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, using a most unlikely spy: a dead man. Director John Madden’s thriller OPERATION MINCEMEAT inevitably has the potential for gallows humor, given that outrageous idea, but it is also a tale about an impressive intelligence operation that actually took place and, moreover, played a pivotal role in the war. Add in the fact that the two agents are working partly with a creative young intelligence agent named Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming, the guy who wrote the James Bond stories), and you have a lot of juicy factual material to work with.

In addition to Firth and Macfadyen, OPERATION MINCEMEAT has an excellent cast that includes Kelly MacDonald, Penelope Wilton, Mark Gatiss, Jason Isaacs, Johnny Flynn and more. With all that, you have all the elements in place for an engrossing historical true story but one that is different from the usual WWII tale. It is a different kind of war story, one that takes place far from the battlefield, but what these individuals are doing in secret proves crucial to the Allies’ success in the war.

It is 1943, and British troops have been battling Nazi troops in grueling conditions in Africa and Asia, but are now poised to launch an invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. The most obvious landing spot for that assault is Sicily but the Allies will face daunting odds against the entrenched Axis forces. Unless the Allies can convince Hitler that the attack will come elsewhere, specifically Greece, Allied troops will likely face massive loss of lives and potential failure of the invasion. If the invasion of Italy fails, it would be as catastrophic as if D-Day had failed. The stakes could not be higher.

Desperate to come up with a plan, the Brits turn to their intelligence community. Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth), a brilliant barrister turned intelligence officer, and Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) are part of a team of British intelligence agents tasked with finding a ruse that will persuade Hitler that the Allies plan to land in Greece instead of Sicily, and make him shift his troops there. Drawing from a handbook of spy craft and subterfuge created by an intelligence officer named Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn), Montagu and Cholmondeley pick out an outrageous idea: to plant false secret information on a dead body and then arrange for the Nazis to find it. Their “agent” will seem to be a courier who died in a plane crash at sea and washed up on the coast of Spain, a fascist but neutral country. The plan then calls for secret efforts to guide the information straight to Hitler’s eyes. The idea is so far-fetched that it faced significant opposition but eventually the plan is approved by Churchill. Montagu and Cholmondeley (whose name is pronounced “Chumley”) are assigned to lead the top secret Twenty Committee of Naval Intelligence, and a dingy basement office for their work. Montagu’s long-time assistant and friend Hester Leggett (Penelope Wilton) and a clever, young office worker, Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald), also join the team working on the plan, which is dubbed “Operation Mincemeat.”

In order to pull off this plan, the team has to devise a complete story and convincing persona for their “agent,” as well as create a convincingly worn uniform, the contents of a wallet and personal effects, and numerous other details, along with the documents to convince the Germans of a secret plan to invade Greece. They also must decide where (and how) to get the body off the coast of Spain, and then guide it to the right people so the information goes straight to Hitler, while convincing the Spanish and Germans that the Allies were desperate to retrieve the documents about the faux invasion plans. No detail can be overlooked, because discovery of the ruse means disaster for the troops.

They also need a body to play the part. You would think that finding a dead body in wartime would be easy, but no. For one thing, the dead person has to meet strict criteria: be young and look convincing as British officer, and appear to have drowned, as the Germans will certainly do forensics on the corpse. They have their work cut out for them.

Oddly, one of the first things the team does in constructing this complicated ruse is obtain the dead body to play the part, which means there is a ticking clock immediately running, as they race to get all the pieces in place for the ruse before the dead body becomes too far gone to be useful. Meanwhile, as they work furiously on the project, a kind of love triangle develops with Montagu, Cholmondeley and Jean Leslie.

The idea is so outrageous, and the steps they take to make sure every detail is seamless are fascinating, making this rich material for an entertaining film about in this behind-the-scenes WWII true story. Plus, OPERATION MINCEMEAT features a splendid cast of talented Brits, and the cast alone is a treat for fans of British films and television series.

OPERATION MINCEMEAT features voice-over narration that seems a bit flowery at first, until you realize that the narrator is Ian Fleming, played with charm by Johnny Flynn. There is a running joke about Fleming, and a seeming host of others in the offices, typing away on novels in their spare moments, on the office typewriters. There are plentiful references to the British tradition of adventure novels, particularly John Buchan and his bestseller “The 39 Steps.” Director John Madden is famous for such period works as SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, so he handles all that well here, but the director is less known for comedy. To be clear, this is not a comedy, but it does have a bombastic, humorous element, and sometimes a little inner “Weekend with Bernie” wants to come out.

Madden’s attention to period detail is flawless and the photography splendid as well. The concept of storytelling is a strong theme in this film, where the team is writing the story of their fictional agent, while several people involved are writing their own novels. The film is based on a book by Ben Macintyre, but director John Madden and scriptwriter Michelle Ashford build the film around the characters as much as the surprising story. In the course of their work, Montagu and Cholmondeley develop a close friendship, but it is strained by the fact that they are both attracted to Kelly Macdonald’s Jean. In addition to the romantic rivalry, both Montagu and Cholmondeley have complicated personal lives that add to the tension as they work.

The fact that the film has so much going on – the clandestine operation, the love triangle, the complex personal stories of Montagu and Cholmondeley, and the storytelling theme – means holding a focus is a challenge. At times, that complexity actually works against the film as a whole, making a bit cluttered and unfocused. This is a fascinating true story but all the moving parts makes it feel as if Madden did not quite trust the appeal of this unlikely tale. There is enough material here for a couple of good movies but less may have been more in this case. Still, the cast is wonderful, the little touches of humor, and the basic unexpectedness of the true story do add up to an entertaining film highlighting the brilliance of these unsung war heroes and this remarkable untold story.

OPERATION MINCEMEAT opens at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters on Friday, May 6, and debuts streaming on Netflix on May 11.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

THE DIG (2021) – Review

Word of this week’s new movie release, all about archeology, may have quickened the pulses of many action film fans. Perhaps visions of a daring, rugged adventurer escaping insidious death traps, battling vicious rivals and their burly henchmen, rescuing damsels in dire distress, and snatching up mystical riches swirled in their fevered brains. Or perhaps of heroes facing peril from an ancient evil, released from the tomb to cause havoc and horror may come to mind for many. Well, maybe the word that this is based on an actual event puts the brakes on those expectations of Indiana Jones and monstrous mummies. Turns out it’s tedious and filthy work with dirt in your boots and embedded under fingernails. Ah, but despite that, along with power politics, there’s still the thrill of discovery. That may be the biggest “find” in the new “docudrama THE DIG.

The story doesn’t begin in a humid jungle or in an arid desert. It all starts on an overcast, chilly day in 1939 near Woodbridge in Suffolk, England. After a brief ride in a local’s boat, Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) pedals his bicycle through the countryside to an opulent mansion. He has an appointment with the lady of the house, Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan), a widow with an energetic nine-year-old son Robert (Archie Barnes). She takes Basil to the land behind her home to a field dotted with several mounds of soil. Edith wants to engage his services as an archeologist to dig up whatever is beneath them. Basil is a bit hesitant as the local Ipswich Museum is keen on exploring a discovered Roman villa, but after a bit of negotiating, and despite a visit of the Ipswich director Reid Moir (James Ready), Basil accepts the job and will live at the estate in the servant’s quarters. He quickly becomes a mentor to Robert who is keen on all the sciences (he even wears a foil hat after his hero, Buck Rogers). This is a relief to Edith, whose weakened condition stems from a childhood heart ailment. As aircraft swoop in from the skies overhead in preparation for a possible war, Basil discovers two ancient rivets, possibly from a ship. In need of more aides than his two locals, Edith brings in a distant cousin, the nomadic photographer Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn). And after meeting with Moir, he then contacts Charles Phillips (Ken Stott) of the British Museum who brings in several scientists to reveal the seventh-century burial ship deep below the mound. Included in the crew are the husband and wife team of Stuart (Ben Chaplin) and Peggy Piggott (Lily James). But can they explore the site and discover its secrets before the country enters this armed conflict engulfing nearly all of Europe?

A big switch from his usual suave, “upper crust” roles, Fiennes slips into the skin of determined “digger” Basil as though the part were a pair of old dependable work boots (the kind he’s wear on the mounds). Fiennes captures the tired stoop of a man who’s spent most of his life outdoors toiling from sun up to sundown. But he also gives him dignity and a feeling of pride in his skills. And though he’s considered “working class”, Fiennes conveys that Basil’s zeal for learning and natural curiosity has not dimmed at all since his youth. Yes, he’s often gruff and stubborn, but he shows a real tenderness as he nurtures young Robert’s interests and as he deals with his employer. Mulligan’s quite believable as the aristocratic Edith, who never puts on “airs” around anyone, especially Basil. She shows us Edith’s adventurous spirit as she visits the mounds, but it’s tinged with sadness as her heart continues to fail her. Edith doesn’t quite give in to despair, as Mulligan slows her stride and lets us see her delight of motherhood while knowing her boy will soon be on his own. She perhaps sees Basil as a mentoring uncle who challenges her intellect and honesty. All while being an “older sister” in spirit to the adventurous Rory who is given the full rebel “good bad-boy” vibe (he‘s going into the services, camps outdoors, and rides a motorbike) by the dashing Flynn. It’s no wonder that he catches the eye of Peggy who James plays as a neglected wallflower finally bathed in sunlight and ready to blossom. Also of note are the twin pompous “supervisors” played with prickly charm by Stott and Ready, along with the warm-hearted spouse of Basil played with subtlety by Monica Dolan.

Director Simon Stone captures the quiet country life of 30s England, while always letting us know of the chaos to come, with newspapers and the radio bracing the land for the upcoming conflict (those planes are always zipping above). He keeps the story moving at a leisurely assured pace which adds impact to an early scene showing the real dangers of exploration (a real scare for the claustrophobic). The relationship and emerging friendship between Edith and Basil is quite compelling and progresses naturally. Unfortunately the script by Moira Buffini, adapting the novel by John Preston, veers into romantic clichés in the second half with the Piggott/Lomax love triangle that veers into the swooning predictable soap territory as she’s rebuffed by her hubby prompting her to free herself (why, without those spectacles she’s …) with the headed to war Rory. Despite this sappy subplot, the locations and period settings are lovely and the whole finding of the boat and the ancient money is quite involving. Those elements, combined with the teaming of Mulligan and Fiennes, make THE DIG well worth exploring.

3 Out of 4

THE DIG opens in select theatres and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at the Hi-Pointe Theatre along with Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas

BEAST – Review

(l-r) Jessie Buckley as Moll and Johnny Flynn as Pascal, in BEAST. Photo: Kerry Brown, courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

BEAST is a gripping, suspenseful film that mixes forbidden love, rebellion and murder, set on the English Channel island of Jersey, a place of natural beauty with a dark history, a stormy drama with a star-making performance by Jessie Buckley as the young woman at its center.

Moll Huntsford (Jessie Buckley) is a 27-year-old woman living with her parents in a stiflingly restrictive but affluent home on the island of Jersey. Her stern mother Hilary (Geraldine James) watches Moll like a hawk, and Moll spends her days is either supervising her mentally-confused father or working as a tour guide for the busloads of retirees who visit the picaresque island. By chance, she meets a stranger named Pascal Renouf (Johnny Flynn), a handsome, enigmatic man who makes his living as hunter and handyman. Pascal comes to Moll’s rescue after her night at the pub but the way he does it suggests he might be as much a danger as the man he drives off. With a mix of fear and fascination, she accepts a ride home from the mysterious stranger. Pascal is hard to read and has a whiff of menace to him but he also has a compelling mix of rough charm and sly humor, which sparks something long-buried within Moll.

When Pascal turns up at her family home the next day, Moll’s mother Hilary is hostile and clearly disdainful of this work-class character on her doorstep, yet Moll impulsively invites him to join them for dinner. At dinner, her mother asks Pascal if he is new to the island, to which he replies that no, he is a native whose ancestors have been on the island since the Norman conquest. He then adds, with a sly smile, “what are you doing on my land?”

The scene reveals something of Pascal’s nature, and also underscores the social gap between Moll’s family and him, establishing the tension between their two very different worlds. Meeting him reveals a wildness already within Moll that has been suppressed by her stifling family. Like Pascal, she has a history of violence, and they are drawn to each other like tamed and wild versions of the same species. While she recognizes they are kindred spirits, Moll is tore between her “dark side” and Pascal, and her family and a wish to “be good.”

BEAST is as brooding and haunting as the island it is set on, and powerful suspenseful tale that showcases some outstanding new talent.

One might wonder who is the “beast” of the title? Is it the raw, wild Pascal, a hunter who nearly blends into the landscape? Or is it Moll, tightly controlled by her family but with a hidden caged animal aspect? Or is it the killer stalking the island’s small rural community?

When Moll and Pascal meet, the island is gripped with fear and actively searching for a missing girl, the fourth one to have vanished. When her body is found buried near a farmer’s field, suspicion falls on Pascal, Moll is torn between defending the man she has fallen in love with or standing with her family and community.

There was a real Beast of Jersey in the 1960s, a child molester who evaded authorities for ten years. In his first feature film, writer/director Michael Pearce drew on his own experiences growing up on Jersey. The writer/director wanted to contrast the island’s wild natural beauty with its stifling small town conservative culture. Pearce describes Jersey as a place of stunning natural beauty where people feel safe but a place with a dark side, with legends of ghosts and witches, and a history of Nazi occupation and the Beast.

What fires up this film most is the riveting performance by Buckley, an Irish-born, stage-trained young actress with wild curly red hair and the capacity to morph from a shy innocent to a woman who might be capable of murder. Her chemistry with Johnny Flynn, an equally gifted actor, is electric yet it is Buckley who often dominates the screen.

Pearce wields his camera with impressive skill, offering formally composed and cramped scenes of Moll’s restrictive family gatherings and community events, and loose, impressionistic hand-held camera shot for scenes between Moll and Pascal. Among the most striking is a scene where Moll’s family gathers at the country club to celebrate her more-conventional sister’s engagement. The family is upset by Pascal’s slightly less formal attire. Pascal shrugs off their objections with a wry smile, as if he was aware he was pushing the limits, but Moll’s reaction is more emotional. A couple of other scenes where she engages with the community suggest that Moll is not always grounded in reality.

The film is not just about the murder mystery or the love story, but has layers of meaning about the balance between conforming to community expectations versus the impulse towards freedom, between an orderly built world and the wild natural environment. Pearce shot partly on Jersey itself, taking advantage of the island’s striking wild landscapes. That nature beauty was then contrasted against scenes of Moll giving the same scripted spiel about those landscapes to tour buses of retirees. While the story has a touch of “Wuthering Heights” at times, with the lovers and the landscape, this is its own unique tale.

The powerful performances of Buckley and Flynn keep us engrossed in this tale as it unfolds, although the ending is a bit of a let- down. Still, Pearce gets some much right in his atmospheric debut film, that one can look forward to more from him. Almost certainly, we will see more of the extremely-watchable and gifted Jessie Buckley,

BEAST opens Friday, May 25, at the Tivoli and Plaza Frontenac theaters.

RATING: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars