Review: Their Finest

I was really unsure whether this was worth watching. But the more times the trailers came on at the other screenings that I went for, the more enjoyment I was getting out of it.

Each year usually has at least one really good British film. This one on face value looked to have potential.

The first two-thirds of the film had a pretty cheerie vibe to it, with solid character development and a concept that when done right can work wonders. Then an incident happens as you go into the final act. At first, I was unsure. Then the stuff that was happening made me think of this a great film rather than a good one.

I have always been a fan of Gemma Arterton's. But I have never been sure if she can hold a film as the lead. Arterton proved me wrong. She had a very charismatic presence about her and very easy to root for. Her development is well-rounded and ended up being highly memorable.
I was cautious about Sam Caflin, as it is not the type of film I would associate him with. However, I was proven wrong once again. His chemistry with Arterton is flat-out brilliant. It gives a quality pairing that I was really caring for as soon as met.
Bill Nighy was really fun to watch. When Nighy is good, he is gold. The type of character he plays is always that I would personally find tough to even get started. But he manages to pull off the most memorable member of the supporting cast. Another one of the minor cast that I enjoyed watching was Richard E. Grant. He gave his character an accent that just loved hearing.

There was not much from a technical side that felt outstanding. But all of it certainly felt well created. The general look of the film fitted the period. The costume design was on point and never felt out of place.

For me, the films strongest aspect was its writing. It's slick, snappy and super witty. It got a fair amount of laughs from me, it brought up a lot of interesting ideas and it had many memorable lines.

In the end it is a wonderful and uplifting film that is about story-telling, and yet, it is more than that. I really like the type of story that it has, and the viewing experience was rather enjoyable with a strong and meaningful ending.
It certainly will make mainstream audiences curious about the art of story-telling, film-making and life in World War II London from a certain point of view.

It is also a very topical film that I think will win many people over. As I said, the concept is a winnable one and the makes of this film made good use of it. Films about making a film are usually rather clever. This is another one of those. People love seeing how films are made, and this executes those topics rather well.

Rating: 8/10