Insipid British version of a Hallmark/Lifetime romantic melodrama.

Rating: 4/10 (20 August 2018)

All signs point to this being a stellar British film about post-WWII Guernsey. Reviews have been great, the acting is top-notch, the concept intriguing, the direction more than adequate. But under its guise as a post-wartime drama, this movie reeks of sentiment and romance at the expense of any revelations about this historical period of time. Feeling like a wasted opportunity, you never get to share the horrors and hardships endured by these people. The whole thing feels skin-deep, revealing neither the true nature of the characters nor the world in which they are desperately trying to restore amid the rubble.
While the writing is at times sharp and revealing, the dialog most of the time is tepid and shows little imagination when it comes to encapsulating Guernsey as it recovers from the horrors of Nazi occupation. While the acting is mostly superb, the actors are somewhat blah, making one wonder why should we care about them? If you are into romantic tales full of lust and love, and if you find the major characters to be attractive and interesting, you many find this to be just the ticket. From the glowing reviews, this show obviously hits a nerve that I don't seem to have.