What a drag

Rating: 3/10 (14 September 2007)

I was looking forward to this, given the splendid reviews and having read Ian McEwan's book (not my favourite McEwan but he is one of my favourite authors) However, I found the reality largely tedious. Maybe this was because it dealt with unfamiliar emotions and unsympathetic characters. The "big house" atmosphere was dealt with competently, but the Dunkirk beach and town scenes just didn't flow. In the latter, one bit part actor after another was clearly waiting just off shot to do his bit. Which was funny but didn't do anything for the credibility of the movie.
In fact,the clichés and cockney accents and the turgid nature of the scene setting were all ingredients for a (poor) comedy - a Whitehall farce perhaps. Maybe that's what it was meant to be ? On reflection it was probably too true to the original novel, which, as I said, isn't one of my favourites. A rare example of where tweaking could have improved the original story to enhance the watcher's enjoyment