Glorious 39

At this time of year it’s traditional to start thinking about the top 10 films of the year, and Glorious 39 is a straight entry on that list. It’s a powerful, poignant and pulsating World War II thriller that hits all of its targets, working as a thriller, conspiracy theory, wartime drama and romance. It also features the female performance of the year from Romola Garai of Atonement fame – she gives a truly brilliant display. And writer Stephen Poliakoff is right back on form as the director, without completely shedding his reputation as a TV genius rather than for film.

Garai – so good as the nurse in Atonement – plays Anne Keys, the adopted daughter of a powerful, rich family headed up by Bill Nighy’s Alex. He and wife Jenny Agutter adopted her before having two children of their own, the charming if glacial Celia and Ralph.

Alex works at the Foreign Office during the confusing time of 1939, and alarm bells ring when creepy Mr Balcome (Jeremy Northam) deposits some gramophone records in their house. When Anne investigates, they turn out to be not foxtrots but recordings of dubious sounding meetings. When her friends start getting bumped off, and Alex starts mumbling about how Britain can’t possibly wage war with Germany, Anne really starts to get paranoid. Is it all a conspiracy? Is she imagining things? What of her handsome beau Lawrence, surely he will help her? And why are the cats so upset?

Poliakoff has based his drama on the reticence of the British upper classes to go to war, but he levels his playing field. Nighy’s Alex is reluctant perhaps because he is posh, but perhaps because he fought in the First World War. His son Ralph’s involvement is confused by an apparent wish to help Anne trace her real parents, a theme that returns in the final act to pack an enormous emotional punch.

Poliakoff knows exactly how to pace his story. He cranks up the tension and paranoia of the times to maximum effect, and the result is a simply stunning, personal, power-packed story. His attention to detail is immaculate, especially with the British upper-classes, such as the taking of tea, the absurd parties, the shadows lurking. All of the usual Poliakoff touches are here – big country houses, shelves of old books and recordings, vertical shots of tiled floors, characters from the present retelling the story. It pays off, and much credit for that goes to Garai.

Her central performance is quite superb, at times almost paradoxical. The more blank her eyes get, the more emotion she seems to convey. She is a physical presence, vulnerable, painfully aware of her background, desperate to be loved, and her final explosion is made all the more powerful by Poliakoff’s use of expletives – he uses none for 100 minutes, then lets rip. Glorious 39 is an amazing film, and a fitting tribute to the 70th anniversary of a war we simply had to fight, despite the protestations of some misguided, weak but dangerous members of the ruling classes.

Overall verdict: Gripping, emotionally draining, exciting wartime conspiracy thriller with an astounding central performance.

NOTE: Glorious 39 is at the Odeon West End in London from November 20th, before going nationwide in the UK on November 27th.

Reviewer: Mike Martin