MILITARY WIVES
***
Director: Peter Cattaneo
Screenwriters: Rosanne Flynn and Rachel Tunnard
Principal cast:
Kristin Scott Thomas
Sharon Horgan
Jason Flemyng
Emma Lowndes
Gaby French
Greg Wise
Country: UK
Classification: M
Runtime: 112 mins.
Australian release date: 12 March 2020.
Military Wives is the latest comedy/drama from Peter Cattaneo, the director who brought us the highly popular movie The Full Monty in 1997. If you go to his new film hoping you’re going to see a feel-good, overcome-the-odds movie along the lines of that film, you’re in for a treat. But if you go hoping to see something fresh from the director, then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Swap women for men and choristers for strippers and you’ve pretty much got the same film.
Cattaneo’s movie is inspired by real events that took place in 2010. It tells the story of a group of women on an army base somewhere in England who were trying to keep their upper lips stiff while their partners were on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Despite coming from diverse classes and backgrounds, the wives and girlfriends collectively lived in fear of a knock on the door that might deliver devastating news about their beloved, so it was important that they kept their spirits up. After kicking around a few ideas for socialising together (knitting circle, anyone?), they decided to form a choir. As it turned out, they weren’t the only ones who thought this was a good idea - there is now a vast network of Military Wives Choirs spread across military bases throughout the UK and overseas, involving more than 2,300 women and 75 choirs. They have created a sense of camaraderie that has allowed the WAGs to overcome any differences between them and to unite them while they wait for their loved ones to return from the theatre of war.
The heart of the plot of Military Wives centres on the fractious relationship between two soldiers’ wives, Kate (Kristen Scott Thomas), whose husband is a colonel, thinks she is ‘posh’ and probably votes Tory, and Lisa (Sharon Horgan), whose husband holds a lower rank, has been put in charge of the WAGs social group and probably votes Labour. When the ladies are establishing their choir, before you can say ‘Do-Re-Mi’ Kate attempts to take control and get them to sing “uplifting” hymns, while Lisa and the others are more inclined to sing pop songs, leading to an inevitable clash. Ultimately though, the women find their voices and soar above their inner conflicts, coming together “like a shoal of fish,” as Kate describes it. Along the way we learn about some of their back-stories, which cover a gamut of issues of concern to military wives, like grief, motherhood and loneliness.
The actors in the ensemble, particularly Scott Thomas and Horgan, work well together and there are some very fine performances in the smaller roles. There are some excellent voices on show as well and some of the singing moments are really wonderful; the final song, written by Robbie Williams and his regular song-writing partner Guy Chambers, is genuinely moving. Keep a tissue at hand. Cattaneo explains that, “Perhaps the greatest draw for me was to make a film that celebrates the emotional power of music and the catharsis of singing together. All the singing was recorded live on set with the imperfections of an amateur choir to achieve an authentic sound. The cast practised the final song before shooting, but we chose not to rehearse the early singing performances to ensure a rough-edged spontaneity.” This tactic has succeeded in providing viewers with a true-to-life experience.
Military Wives is a feel-good movie that shows that, in the face of adversity, humans can come together and work things out for the common good, and many people will thoroughly enjoy it. If, however, you like your cinema to be more original, less lazy and predictable, there are better choices currently on offer.
Screenwriters: Rosanne Flynn and Rachel Tunnard
Principal cast:
Kristin Scott Thomas
Sharon Horgan
Jason Flemyng
Emma Lowndes
Gaby French
Greg Wise
Country: UK
Classification: M
Runtime: 112 mins.
Australian release date: 12 March 2020.
Military Wives is the latest comedy/drama from Peter Cattaneo, the director who brought us the highly popular movie The Full Monty in 1997. If you go to his new film hoping you’re going to see a feel-good, overcome-the-odds movie along the lines of that film, you’re in for a treat. But if you go hoping to see something fresh from the director, then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Swap women for men and choristers for strippers and you’ve pretty much got the same film.
Cattaneo’s movie is inspired by real events that took place in 2010. It tells the story of a group of women on an army base somewhere in England who were trying to keep their upper lips stiff while their partners were on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Despite coming from diverse classes and backgrounds, the wives and girlfriends collectively lived in fear of a knock on the door that might deliver devastating news about their beloved, so it was important that they kept their spirits up. After kicking around a few ideas for socialising together (knitting circle, anyone?), they decided to form a choir. As it turned out, they weren’t the only ones who thought this was a good idea - there is now a vast network of Military Wives Choirs spread across military bases throughout the UK and overseas, involving more than 2,300 women and 75 choirs. They have created a sense of camaraderie that has allowed the WAGs to overcome any differences between them and to unite them while they wait for their loved ones to return from the theatre of war.
The heart of the plot of Military Wives centres on the fractious relationship between two soldiers’ wives, Kate (Kristen Scott Thomas), whose husband is a colonel, thinks she is ‘posh’ and probably votes Tory, and Lisa (Sharon Horgan), whose husband holds a lower rank, has been put in charge of the WAGs social group and probably votes Labour. When the ladies are establishing their choir, before you can say ‘Do-Re-Mi’ Kate attempts to take control and get them to sing “uplifting” hymns, while Lisa and the others are more inclined to sing pop songs, leading to an inevitable clash. Ultimately though, the women find their voices and soar above their inner conflicts, coming together “like a shoal of fish,” as Kate describes it. Along the way we learn about some of their back-stories, which cover a gamut of issues of concern to military wives, like grief, motherhood and loneliness.
The actors in the ensemble, particularly Scott Thomas and Horgan, work well together and there are some very fine performances in the smaller roles. There are some excellent voices on show as well and some of the singing moments are really wonderful; the final song, written by Robbie Williams and his regular song-writing partner Guy Chambers, is genuinely moving. Keep a tissue at hand. Cattaneo explains that, “Perhaps the greatest draw for me was to make a film that celebrates the emotional power of music and the catharsis of singing together. All the singing was recorded live on set with the imperfections of an amateur choir to achieve an authentic sound. The cast practised the final song before shooting, but we chose not to rehearse the early singing performances to ensure a rough-edged spontaneity.” This tactic has succeeded in providing viewers with a true-to-life experience.
Military Wives is a feel-good movie that shows that, in the face of adversity, humans can come together and work things out for the common good, and many people will thoroughly enjoy it. If, however, you like your cinema to be more original, less lazy and predictable, there are better choices currently on offer.