Journey's End

1/30/2022

I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to make a movie that takes place mostly in a World War I trench and dugout could hold my attention as well as Journey’s End did. Except perhaps for the excesses of Captain Stanhope’s temper and demeanor, the ensemble cast does well with the realistic dialogue. There is an element of an ominous Greek tragedy taking place, and a couple of developments I saw coming a mile off, but that didn’t detract from my appreciation of the story and how it was told. The knowledge of the attack that was due reminded me of Hitchcock’s comment that suspense wasn’t having a bomb explode in a movie; suspense was not knowing if it would explode. The attack when it came was almost an anticlimax. It makes me interested in how this was handled as a play with the limit

3/28/2022

This isn't so much a war movie, as a movie about the impact of waiting! It features a strong and emotional performance from Sam Claflin ("Capt. Stanhope") as the borderline alcoholic who leads a platoon of squaddies in a trench in France in the Spring of 1918. They know a raid is coming - either by them, or from the opposing Bosch - but they don't know when, and so live in a heightened state of alertness and fear that challenges the wits of even the most robust of characters. The constancy of the peril has worn him down, however, and "Stanhope" is now not particularly robust - his mental fortitude is challenged above and beyond as he tries to motivate and manage the men under is command. The remainder of his outfit, including his deputy Paul Bethany ("Uncle") who tries his best to support