To begin with I'm a 31 years old man so usually not the target audience for this film - but then again, no matter what film, if it's good, it should attract any age or any gender and there were actually times when this film started to tug at my heart.
The film had a slow start with all wives sending off their men for the war and then their daily activities of... doing nothing, really. As far as I could tell, it was only Sharon Horgan's character that worked at the local shop in the small town they lived in. Everybody else either was at home, playing with their kids or going to the wives activities at the military building. I was probably not focused enough at the beginning of the film, since there was talk about the Falklands on the TV but soon I noticed that there were lots of cellphones and laptops and I had to figure out what time it was really set in. Because seeing so many women not working or just being housewives would probably have made more sense the earlier in time the film would've been set.
The story is quite typical too, Kristin Scott Thomas playing the high-class wife trying to start some serious activities for the wives to focus their minds on so they don't have to just sit at home and worry about their husbands at the war in Afghanistan, and then Sharon Horgan's character that's more relaxed and takes every day as they come. There are some bumpy roads between the two of them, but during the middle of the film, they actually get along together and the highlight of the film must without a doubt be the tunnel scene, it actually made me feel warm and I actually could see myself give the film a high rating from that point.
But then came the end of the second act where they suddenly added a forced argument between the two leads and then they had bad times for 10 minutes before they ended up becoming best friends again. I know it's considered spoilers, but it's so badly done and over so quickly that it doesn't even matter. Kristin's character could've easily have gotten her breakdown at anytime of the film without the arguement, and Sharon's character didn't have to suddenly switch character when she pushed her choir members - it all felt so forced and stupid and it's what made me lower the score.
Also, there was a missed opportunity with the big song they performed to show the men they sang for, or focusing the camera on the person which text they had used, making it more personal, but to me it was just a mix of everything and mostly Kristin and her husband being emotional. There were also parts with the character Dawn that didn't sing, more like miming, that I thought would have her own little development. Same with Ruby with her deep voice - sure, they told her that she was an alto, but then didn't do much more about it.
What saves the film is the performances from Kristin and Sharon, they had a great chemistry together and I really cheered for both of them the whole film through. The other ladies were also fun as well with their own kinds of personalities, even if some could've gotten some more screen time. Also a lot of fun seeing Jason Flemyng in such a sweet, cuddly role as he played, the bumbly military guy being there for the ladies - not the usual role I'm used to seeing him as, but I'm happy that he did.
You know what you're getting with this film and if you're fine with that, then just enjoy the film.
The film had a slow start with all wives sending off their men for the war and then their daily activities of... doing nothing, really. As far as I could tell, it was only Sharon Horgan's character that worked at the local shop in the small town they lived in. Everybody else either was at home, playing with their kids or going to the wives activities at the military building. I was probably not focused enough at the beginning of the film, since there was talk about the Falklands on the TV but soon I noticed that there were lots of cellphones and laptops and I had to figure out what time it was really set in. Because seeing so many women not working or just being housewives would probably have made more sense the earlier in time the film would've been set.
The story is quite typical too, Kristin Scott Thomas playing the high-class wife trying to start some serious activities for the wives to focus their minds on so they don't have to just sit at home and worry about their husbands at the war in Afghanistan, and then Sharon Horgan's character that's more relaxed and takes every day as they come. There are some bumpy roads between the two of them, but during the middle of the film, they actually get along together and the highlight of the film must without a doubt be the tunnel scene, it actually made me feel warm and I actually could see myself give the film a high rating from that point.
But then came the end of the second act where they suddenly added a forced argument between the two leads and then they had bad times for 10 minutes before they ended up becoming best friends again. I know it's considered spoilers, but it's so badly done and over so quickly that it doesn't even matter. Kristin's character could've easily have gotten her breakdown at anytime of the film without the arguement, and Sharon's character didn't have to suddenly switch character when she pushed her choir members - it all felt so forced and stupid and it's what made me lower the score.
Also, there was a missed opportunity with the big song they performed to show the men they sang for, or focusing the camera on the person which text they had used, making it more personal, but to me it was just a mix of everything and mostly Kristin and her husband being emotional. There were also parts with the character Dawn that didn't sing, more like miming, that I thought would have her own little development. Same with Ruby with her deep voice - sure, they told her that she was an alto, but then didn't do much more about it.
What saves the film is the performances from Kristin and Sharon, they had a great chemistry together and I really cheered for both of them the whole film through. The other ladies were also fun as well with their own kinds of personalities, even if some could've gotten some more screen time. Also a lot of fun seeing Jason Flemyng in such a sweet, cuddly role as he played, the bumbly military guy being there for the ladies - not the usual role I'm used to seeing him as, but I'm happy that he did.
You know what you're getting with this film and if you're fine with that, then just enjoy the film.