In the handsomely made World War II period film THEIR FINEST, director Lone Scherfig spins a tale of a young Welsh woman who takes a job as a scriptwriter for the British government’s war propaganda film division. Set up like a 1940s period romance, the director both paints a picture of the treatment of working women in the WWII war effort and, more uniquely, a peek inside script writing and propaganda film making in the 1940s.
The movie poster makes THEIR FINEST look like a period romantic comedy but it is actually more complex than that. Director Lone Scherfig, a Danish-born woman director/writer whose past films include AN EDUCATION, lulls us into expecting one film but then gives us a different, more complicated one.
Like in the U.S., the war forced British industry and government to recruit women to fill jobs that had previously been held primarily by men. The war effort needed these woman workers but gave them mixed messages, giving them lower pay and making it clear they were only temporary employees. To paraphrase one woman character notes, “they are afraid we won’t go back in our boxes after the war.” Catrin (Gemma Arterton) and Ellis Cole (Jack Huston) are struggling to make ends meet in wartime London, where artist Ellis, deemed unsuitable for military service due to a leg injury, is having difficulty finding work. So, the extra money is welcome when Catrin’s writing skill earns her an offer to write for the short propaganda films aimed at women, shorts sandwiched in between double features in theaters, at half the rate paid to men. When the government hits on the idea of making a propaganda film about the recent evacuation of Allied troops by British civilian volunteers from Dunkirk in France, Mrs. Cole is tapped to provide the “women’s dialog” for the film, something the arrogant lead script writer Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin) calls “the slop.” Handsome but difficult Buckley offers a resentful reception as Mrs. Cole squeezes – literally – into the tiny corner in the script writers’ office that is provided for her. But resentment begins to fade a bit as the work on the movie production gets under way and the script starts to take shape.
The plot gives us a glimpse into the challenges that women faced during WWII as they took on jobs previously reserved only for men, a subject on which several other films, and even BBC television series, have focused. What makes this film different is its other spotlight – on wartime film production, as well as a reminder about the difference between movies and real life. In entertaining, lively fashion, the film takes us through the film making process, from a trip to research the story, to the steps of script writing, through casting and shooting on location and the studio, and finally the film’s theatrical release.
The film skillfully creates an authentic ’40s period feel. In classic ’40s movie style, the prickly relationship between Mrs. Cole and the sharp-tongued Buckley eventually generates romantic sparks, and the director uses the romantic sparring to frame the larger story. The couple is at the center of the plot but the film is pretty much stolen by the delightful Bill Nighy, who plays Ambrose Hilliard, an aging actor who is having a hard time accepting his reduced circumstances where he now is playing supporting bits in propaganda film instead of leading men. Eddie Marsan plays the actor’s long-time agent, who does his best to soothe his bruised ego. Helen McCrory plays the agent’s sister Sophie, who appears later to stir things up with her plain-speaking manner and provides a little love interest for Nighy’s actor. Jeremy Irons appears as a Shakespeare-quoting Secretary of War in a pivotal scene.
Having lulled the audience into expecting a classic 1940s romance, director Scherfig slyly starts undermining expectations by gradually letting reality seep in to undermine the movie fantasy. While the characters play out their workplace and domestic struggles, London is in the midst of the Nazis’ relentless Blitzkrieg bombing campaign. As Claflin’s scriptwriter character notes, in the movies, everything unfolds in a satisfying, orderly manner but in real life, things are far less predictable or even logical.
Part of the enjoyment of this film for film buffs is the behind-the-scenes look at old-style movie production. The recreation of old Technicolor is among this film’s many visual delights. The challenges of location shooting and technical mishaps are among the real-world details. A handsome American added to the cast, to appeal to the overseas American audience – and encourage American audiences to support the war – turns into a headache when he turns out to be a terrible actor, forcing the production staff to scramble for a solution.
THEIR FINEST is a more surprising, subtle film than one expects, and offers a bittersweet, intriguing and a bit feminist look at the WWII home front from a new prospective.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
