Journey’s End: R.C. Sherriff’s Classic Drama, Back on the Big Screen

R.C. Sherriff’s classic stage play was such a definitive depiction of WWI, Heinz Paul opted to maintain the characters’ Britishness for his 1931 German language film production. Ironically, it would be Aces High, a 1976 Franco-British co-pro that took the most liberties, shifting the drama from the trenches to a fighter squadron. This time around, director Saul Dibb and screenwriter Simon Reade closely follow the original text with their faithful yet still powerful adaptation of Journey’s End (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

Hopelessly naïve with respect to the war, 2^nd Lt. Raleigh manages to get himself assigned to the infantry company of Captain Stanhope, his senior at school and his sister’s romantic interest. Unfortunately, the war has taken a drastic emotional toll on Stanhope, who now regularly self-medicates with whiskey. Nevertheless, his is still the best trench-level officer in the British Army.

With the launch of what would be known as the Spring Offensive imminent, Raleigh’s timing is downright perverse. In fact, Stanhope bitterly resents his presence, fearing Raleigh will inform his sister of his post-traumatic condition and that Raleigh’s blind hero-worship will lead to his death. The latter concern becomes especially pressing when Stanhope’s superiors order him to dispatch Raleigh and the beloved second-in-command, Lt. “Uncle” Osborne on a dubious daytime raid.

Dibb opens up the drama just a bit, giving viewers a sense of the intricacies of the trenches, but he retains the feeling of airless claustrophobia. Just being there looks like a miserable experience, so it is easy to see how the added tension of the anticipated German attack would try men’s souls. The film itself feels more than sufficiently realistic, but Dibb is also clearly attuned to the institutionalized class differences between officers and the enlisted.

Sam Claflin is terrific and almost terrifyingly intense as Stanhope. It is an achingly brittle performance that actually pairs up nicely with his work in Their Finest, which is tonally quite different, yet shares some overlapping themes. Likewise, Paul Bettany really gives the film depth and soul with his humanistic portrayal of Osborne. Much like he did in Zoo, Toby Jones finds his opportunities to inject pathos and dignity into Mason the cook, who might otherwise be a stock character cliché in someone else’s hands. Frankly, the maturation and disillusionment of Asa Butterfield’s Raleigh seems a bit slow, but his character is really just there to serve as a foil and mirror to Stanhope.

It is nice to see Dibb finally get another film released in American theaters after the Weinsteins dithered away his quality adaptation of Suite Française. This is an even better film that captures the horrifying futility of war without indulging in graphic gore. Highly recommended, Journey’s End opens today (3/16) in New York, at the Landmark 57.

Long Dark Night on Wall Street: Margin Call

Who understands the recent financial crisis better, brokers on Wall Street or first-time indie filmmakers? If you answered the latter, than this is the film for you. Have no fear, writer-director J.C. Chandor’s father was at Merrill for forty years, so it’s all in the genes. The toast of Sundance and New Directors/New Films earlier in the year, Chandor’s Margin Call (trailer here) opens for real today in New York.

Junior analyst Peter Sullivan’s boss Eric Dale is about to be unceremoniously let go. His cell phone will be terminated and his email locked. As he is escorted out of the building, Dale gives him a flash-drive with the file he had been working on. “Take a look at this, but be careful,” he cautions. When Sullivan pops it in, up launches a spreadsheet predicting the firm is on the brink of imminent collapse.

Sullivan alerts his new boss, Will Emerson, the British expat head of trading, who calls in his boss, Sam Rogers. As the firm’s long dark night of the soul progresses, the dire projections work their way up to CEO John Tuld, but of course nobody can reach Dale, since they cut all ties with such ruthless efficiency.

Presented in only the most simplistic terms, supposedly because the senior management who have lived and breathed the market for three to four decades needed it broken down in that manner, the firm’s crisis apparently involves sub-prime mortgages they packaged together with less risky assets into extremely profitable packages. The problem is they have been caught with too much junk on the books. Naturally, the steely Tuld mandates a draconian solution: liquidate all of it as soon as the market opens. Of course, this will require the traders burn bridges with all their counterparts, but the firm will survive. Yet, this seems somewhat problematic, turning potential paper losses into serious-as-your-life financial losses. At least, the traders stand to make sizable bonuses if they can pull it off. Rogers though, has profound misgivings.

Nobody should go to Margin for an economics lesson—or to any other narrative drama for that matter. However, those looking for a salty-talking men-in-suspenders pressure cooker drama will probably enjoy the style and attitude on display throughout the film. Producer Zachary Quinto is pretty bland as Sullivan the plugger, but the rest of the cast really digs in with relish. Paul Bettany largely commandeers the film, realistically capturing the swagger and animal charisma of Emerson, a proud “one-percenter.” To a surprising extent, Kevin Spacey and Stanley Tucci legitimately humanize Rodgers and Dale respectively, investing them with nuance and complexity. Although Jeremy Iron’s Tuld is basically an off-the-shelf businessman villain, he certainly knows how to chew the scenery with menace.

Yet, Margin indulges in one of the most persistent and pernicious Hollywood stereotypes with Sarah Robertson, a senior manager played by Demi Moore, largely just carrying on from where she left off in Disclosure. Why is it that businesswomen are unfailingly portraying as cravenly CYA-ing backstabbers out to derail all their male colleagues? Screenwriters really need to get out into the real world more.

Chandor has a great ear for dialogue and he perfectly captures the eerie vibe of being in the office during the wee hours. He just needs to get past some dated gender preconceptions. Sometimes silly, but still a promising first feature, Margin opens today (10/21) in New York at the Angelika Film Center.