Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy team up in the trailer of Their Finest, a film by director Lone Scherfig, to tell a complex but surprisingly cheery tale of movie-making during the Blitz, and showcase the important role movies have played in times of war.
Their Finest is based on the novel Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans. According to the official synopsis, the film is set in London during the Blitz, and follows “Catrin (Gemma Arterton), an untried screenwriter, and a makeshift cast and crew” as they “work under fire to make a film to lift the nation’s flagging spirits; and inspire America to join the war.
“Partnered alongside fellow screenwriter, Buckley (Sam Claflin) and eccentric actor Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy), the trio set off to make a film that will warm the hearts of the nation and capture the imagination of the American population.”
We know Gemma Arterton from movies such as Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Sam Claflin played Finnick in The Hunger Games, and has also starred in movies such as Me Before You, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Alongside him, and also hailing from the Pirates of the Caribbean universe and classics such as Love Actually, stars Bill Nighy.
Scherfig is a Danish director widely known for her Academy Award nominated film An Education, and the beautiful yet heartbreaking One Day. She’s exceptionally skilled at character development, and recreating different historical eras, so it will certainly be interesting to see what she does with this film.
Their Finest seeks to highlight many interesting elements at once: the experience of being a female screenwriter in a male-dominated world (Catrin’s job is to write “the slop”: meaning female dialogue), the role women held in British society during World War II in the absence of men, and complex subjects such as war and morale.
Of course, since the film is a romantic comedy, much of it is still a love story.
“The best challenge with this film is probably this mix of comedy and emotion,” the director told Deadline. “I feel confident doing that because I’ve done it so many times. But with this film it’s even more extreme, because it has screwball moments and it has heartbreaking scenes as well. And to make that organic and meaningful, where you think it’s comedy and where you get to laugh a lot, but it’s hopefully not superficial… and you also owe everyone who had to do with World War II to take that seriously. So it has that double grip… And that’s always hard.”
It’s a difficult balance to achieve, especially since there seems to be a love triangle of mixed in with the plot: Arterton’s character is a married woman. Their Finest will really have to do an exceptional job if it intends to tell both a complicated love story and a war story in a way that empowers its female characters.
But if the care Scherfig is putting into the delicate balance of genres pays off, Their Finest might actually be a unique and interesting insight into the movie industry during World War II, and the important part it played in boosting the morale of the Allies. This is the sort of film that, if done correctly, is bound to win countless awards. Hollywood, after all, loves movies about the film industry.
It will also be the latest film to showcase the story of a minority. Although there have been a few amazing female characters in war movies, such as Peggy Carter, there is still a need to properly explore the gender gap in the filmmaking industry, and the decisive actions of women in wartime. The powerful influence women had the fate of their countries while men went to the army still isn’t acknowledged enough.
It might even give us some insight into the role of films today. With much debate going on about movies and politics, and whether or not the two ought to mix, Their Finest will be a good reminder that film has always been an exploration of what is happening in the world; one that wields influence which can be either wonderfully positive, or terribly dangerous.
Just as it was in the 1940s, film is often more effective than any news, which is why we have a responsibility to ensure that the messages in those films are leading us to a wiser, more united world.
Their Finest will be a story of crisis, but it also intends be an entertaining comedy, and even a love story. While a difficult task to achieve, the mix is certainly a welcome one. Crisis, naturally, begets a certain desire for distraction. And while we want to continue to watch meaningful stories on screen, we also want to enjoy the movie and leave the theaters feeling happy.
Let’s hope Their Finest does its finest. It’s important, after all, to be able to find love and laughter, even in times of crisis.
Their Finest is set to be released in America this April.