review of "The War Bride", 2001
There was never any doubt that Anna Friel could act, anyway. But I just happened to catch The War Bride on iPlayer last night...and she was completely brilliant.
The War Bride is set in the later years of World War Two as Lily (Anna Friel) meets a Canadian serviceman in London's East End, where she lives with her best friend Sophie. Both she and Sophie fall in love with servicemen, who later leave for war after getting married but the women are left behind. That is, until they receive orders from the Canadian embassy to go to live in Canada with their husbands' families. Lily journeys across the Atlantic with her baby daughter and struggles to cope with living in an unfamiliar country at war, with her husband Charlie's hostile family.
So rarely have I identified with and sympathised with a character throughout an entire film. It's not unusual to be irritated by a character at some point, even if it's one you adore. But with Lily, I was always on her side. As a viewer, you become frustrated as she does, you despair at how alone she is; as a fellow Briton, you want to keep her company in Canada. Canada is presented as alien and wildly different in terms of the social norm and what is accepted. Lily is constantly thought of as a slut, with her fitted red dresses. Though Betty (Brenda Fricker) clearly loves her granddaughter - Lily and Charlie's daughter Lindy - Charlie's sister Sylvia continues to resent Lily for much of the film. Sylvia is snooty and proud, hating Lily almost as much as Peggy, Charlie's old girlfriend. Peggy's act against Lily, that ends up hurting not just her but her brother Joe, Sylvia and Charlie, too, is despicable. Yet prior to this, Lily had made her a teddy and some other clothes as a peace offering, wanting to befriend her.
25-year-old Anna's acting was such that, despite the slightly dodgy East End accent (then again, when aren't cockney accents dodgy?), Lily became a truly real and sympathetic character. She was three-dimensional, you could understand her actions, however bad. Even in silence, she was Lily, her eyes showing anger, fear, sorrow, despair...and joy. There was a little joy, it has to be admitted. But this film passed my test - it made me cry.
Truly brilliant* films and musicals that are dramas inspire tears, even if only on the first viewing. With The War Bride, I only cried a tiny bit, just once. But nevertheless, it passes with flying colours because it was unexpected until that very moment. It was not just thanks to Anna, but also the supporting cast, including Aden Young as Charlie.
And with this, I would like to thank the BBC, because if it hadn't been for iPlayer, I would never have known this gem existed. It is such an unknown film that there is nothing on youtube whatsoever, and no trailer at IMDB. However, it is available on DVD at Play.com.
And of course, I thank Anna. I now have a new favourite character. Shame that nobody'll have ever heard of her.
The War Bride: 9.5/10
__________________________________
* Examples of films and musicals that have inspired tears:
Little Miss Sunshine
Juno
Star Trek (yes, I know. But true)
Atonement
Edward Scissorhands
ShakespeaRe-Told: Much Ado About Nothing
The Sound of Music (2006 West End production)