Drama

Action

Journey's End

Fluidity Films

Wales Screen

British Film Company

Metro International Entertainment

Third Wednesday Films

Anyway Productions

uMedia

Good Deed Entertainment

United Kingdom

English

Asa Butterfield

Sam Claflin

Paul Bettany

Tom Sturridge

Toby Jones

Stephen Graham

Robert Glenister

Theo Barklem-Biggs

Miles Jupp

Oliver Dimsdale

Jake Curran

Andy Gathergood

Nicholas Agnew

Alaïs Lawson

Jack Riddiford

Rupert Wickham

Laurent Andruet

Jack Holden

Adam Colborne

Derek Barr

Rose Reade

Eirik Bar

Elliot Balchin

Will Adamsdale

Harry Jardine

Tom Ward-Thomas

Aaron Hartley

Saul Dibb

Will Machin

Natalie Brenner

Sam Parker

Mary Burke

Charles Auty

Steve Milne

Christian Eisenbeiss

Ivan Dunleavy

Robert Norris

Sue de Beauvoir

Bastien Sirodot

Adrian Politowski

Gilles Waterkeyn

Marshall Leviten

Roseann Samuel

Bryn Thomas

David Stafford

Natalie Holt

Andy Shelley

Stephen Griffiths

Andrew Burford

Andrius Davidenas

Dean Forster

Andrew Bonner

Aneta Chalas

Jessica Elise Evans

Geraldine Ditano

Lisa Lloyd

Anwen Haf

Dale Jordan Johnson

Rachel Garlick

Lucy Fuest

Michael Curtis

Kingsley Hoskins

Heather Crompton

Jonathan Stanley

Rico Bam

Kevin McCurdy

P.R. Smith

David J. Bremner

Simon Reade

Guy de Beaujeu

Laurie Rose

Tania Reddin

John Hubbard

Ros Hubbard

Kristian Milsted

Philip Barber

Libby Uppington

Anushia Nieradzik

Phil Smith

Ana Garrido

Al Green

Mark Kirby

Sarah Moore

Nick Gillespie

Rob Baker Ashton

Nick Wall

Steffan Hill

John Rafique

Nick Rideout

Anna Fusacchia

Simon Pennequin

Tony Kock

Emma Pellan

Jelmen Palsterman

Justin Dolby

Dafydd Parry

Robin Gerrard

Barnaby Smyth

Mathias Schuster

Matis Rei

Lesley Noble

Hildur Guðnadóttir

R.C. Sherriff

Vernon Bartlett

Conal Palmer

Paul Murphy

Sophie Pearson

Richard Cartwright

Laura Pettitt

John Truckle

James Layton

David Grindley

Peter McGinn

I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to make a movie that takes place mostly in a World War I trench and dugout could hold my attention as well as Journey’s End did. Except perhaps for the excesses of Captain Stanhope’s temper and demeanor, the ensemble cast does well with the realistic dialogue.

There is an element of an ominous Greek tragedy taking place, and a couple of developments I saw coming a mile off, but that didn’t detract from my appreciation of the story and how it was told. The knowledge of the attack that was due reminded me of Hitchcock’s comment that suspense wasn’t having a bomb explode in a movie; suspense was not knowing if it would explode. The attack when it came was almost an anticlimax.

It makes me interested in how this was handled as a play with the limitations of scenes on a stage. I see there are versions online, so I may check one of them out.

CinemaSerf

This isn't so much a war movie, as a movie about the impact of waiting! It features a strong and emotional performance from Sam Claflin ("Capt. Stanhope") as the borderline alcoholic who leads a platoon of squaddies in a trench in France in the Spring of 1918. They know a raid is coming - either by them, or from the opposing Bosch - but they don't know when, and so live in a heightened state of alertness and fear that challenges the wits of even the most robust of characters. The constancy of the peril has worn him down, however, and "Stanhope" is now not particularly robust - his mental fortitude is challenged above and beyond as he tries to motivate and manage the men under is command. The remainder of his outfit, including his deputy Paul Bethany ("Uncle") who tries his best to support his friend through the daily trauma as well as to inspire and support the other officers and men, and a very green Asa Butterfield ("Raleigh") try to hold things together as the inevitable tragedy looms larger by the hour. This is not an action film; indeed precious little warfare actually happens; it is much more of a poignant psychological, at times intimate evaluation of the unimaginable stress put on human beings by uncertainty, cold and apprehension; as well as of their determination, honesty and team spirit that hits home well when you are sitting in an armchair at home. Saul Dibb manages to build the tension well, and the insight into this trench warfare environment he delivers is genuinely touching. The sound could be better, though - it's difficult to hear the dialogue at times, but that's an incidental criticism of a well scored, good film.

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Journey's End

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Cast

Asa Butterfield

Sam Claflin

Paul Bettany

Tom Sturridge

Toby Jones

Stephen Graham

Robert Glenister

Theo Barklem-Biggs

Miles Jupp

Oliver Dimsdale

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