Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: J.P. Watts, Vital Pictures, M 96 Minutes.
One of the main highlights of the 2021 British Film Festival is the gripping war drama from first-time director J.P. Watts set during the First World War where Allied soldiers were unable to overcome the German army at Messines.
It is the true story of a daring plan by British colonel Hellfire Jack Norton-Griffiths (Tom Goodman-Hill – ‘Humans’) to break the deadly stalemate in proposing to tunnel beneath enemy lines from the Allied to the German trenches in 1917.
Should he receive the support of his superior officers Norton-Griffiths then hopes to successfully set off the bombs in No Man’s land from below the German line and save the Allied war effort.
Having received the begrudging endorsement of his commanding officers Norton-Griffiths recruits a special group of Yorkshire miners including Willian Hawkins (Sam Hazeldine – ‘Peaky Blunders’) who earlier was rejected when he first volunteered to sign up due to his health condition.
Accompanied by the four other miners recruited they are sent to the war front in Flanders to begin the delicate operation of digging the tunnel amidst the dangers of a possible cave-in and the German bombing.
After a number of considerable obstacles William and his crew are finally able to achieve their objective only to suffer the loss of two of their compatriots with the news showing victory being attained at Messines.
Watts draws heavily on the inherent claustrophobia of the setting providing a different and terrifying perspective on the trenches.
There is some simplicity to a storyline that is convincing and grim but it also allows the undeniable horror of the environment to speak more loudly than any wider point of view about the war and those who fought in it.
Even the culture clash between the working-class miners and the posh generals who command them is secondary, with Goodman-Hill’s performance cutting through the pomposity with a palpable sense of admiration and respect.
Apart from Goodman-Hill’s portrayal there is Hazeldine’s courageous performance in a wartime production that speaks loudly on the absolute futility of war.
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
