Review Movies: Glorious 39 | Stephen Poliakoff | Neville Chamberlain | Romola Garai

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The Review - AT THE MOVIES with DAN CARRIER
Published: 19 November 2009

Romola Garai as Anne Keyes in Glorious 39

Privileged life blown apart by world war

GLORIOUS 39
Directed by Steven Poliakoff
Certificate 15

IT is the dark days before the Second World War.
Neville Chamberlain is still promoting a policy of appeasement. Winston Churchill is saying the concept is like throwing friends to crocodiles in the hope they’ll eat you last.
This disquieting backdrop is the scene for a new thriller by celebrated playwright Stephen Poliakoff, that uses the stance of the upper classes in the 1930s as a starting point for some real skulduggery. It has been well recorded on celluloid, the behaviour of the ruling elite in Britain during the 1930s, which saw Hitler as a friend rather than a monster. This accepted fact has helped chivvy the plot along in films such as James Ivory’s Remains of the Day.
The same premise runs through this. We meet the well-heeled Keyes family, who are determined the storm on the horizon will not interfere with their privileged lives at their swanky London base and idyllic Norfolk retreat.
Daughter Anne is a wannabe actress, in love with Foreign Office staffer Lawrence. But her simple life of dresses and cocktails begins to turn sour when she stumbles across secret recordings hidden in the grounds of the Keyes estate.
Poliakoff has assembled a cast who all seem to enjoy flitting between real menace and stiff upper lips. Bill Nighy (as usual) broods wonderfully under those flicked, owl-like eyebrows of his and Romola Garai (who shone so beautifully in Atonement) is believable as his confused daughter.
It is also a joy to see David ‘Dr Who’ Tennant, Jenny Agutter, Julie Christie, Christopher Lee and Clive Owen all waft in effectively as well.

Win tickets to see Glorious 39

THE New Journal and our sister papers the Islington Tribune and West End Extra are offering you the chance to see this film for free: all you have to do is be among the first 25 readers to present yourself at the super big-screened Odeon Leicester Square in the West End this Friday night – November 20 – with a copy of any of our papers to win a free pair of tickets. It is followed by a question and answer session with Stephen Poliakoff and stars of the film Bill Nighy and Romola Garai. Tickets are available from 6.30pm and the show starts at 7.30pm.

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