Great cast and performances in this soapy flick. Those where really dark times for England. A lot of suffering everywhere. Claire Foy, charming as a fairy.
The Night Watch
2011
Action / Drama / Romance / War
The Night Watch
2011
Action / Drama / Romance / War
Plot summary
In post-war London, Viv Pearce is dating Reggie and runs a dating bureau with Helen Giniver, who lives with her older lover, authoress Julia Standing. Viv's younger brother Duncan, a gay man made to feel ashamed of his orientation, has been in prison and is sought out by his ex-cell-mate, Robert Fraser, who served time as a conscientious objector and is now concerned for the young man's welfare. Viv encounters Kay Langrish, a wealthy, reclusive, butch lesbian and for both women this evokes memories of the period three years earlier (1944) when Kay was an heroic ambulance driver in a happy, loving relationship with Helen -- before Kay introduced her to her ex-lover Julia. At that time, Viv and Reggie are forced to procure the services of a dentist moonlighting as an abortionist. About to die from blood loss, and having been abandoned by Reggie, Kay saves her from prosecution by claiming she was a married woman who had miscarried. Three years before that (1941) Kay and Julia are still an item and Viv meets unhappily married soldier Reggie on a train. Kay pulls Helen from the wreckage of a bombed house, finding the innocent young woman she has always wanted to love and care for. We also learn the gruesome details of why Duncan was in prison, which follows a suicide pact with the boy he loved, in response to the war and the draft. As the scene returns to 1947 there are happier endings for some and optimist outlooks for others as they move forward.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Claire Foy as Helen Giniver
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Lauren
Harry Treadaway as Duncan Pearce
Jodie Whittaker as Vivian Pearce
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 821.19 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Nice movie about people searching for north after desperate times.
Reviewed by
good version of OK novel
This is a feature-length adaptation of Sarah Water's book of the same name.
I first came across Sarah Water's writing when I watch Tipping The Velvet on TV. I enjoyed the series so much that I then read the book, which was a great read. (I thoroughly recommend you read the book and watch the series - I don't think the order matters).
I guess the reason that I wasn't bowled over by this drama stems from the fact that I am not a fan of the book. I read it a few months ago, and whilst I enjoyed it, it was nowhere near as good as Tipping The Velvet. I think the problem being that whilst it has interesting characters, the story just wasn't strong enough and it just seemed to pootle along without much direction.
Saying that though, I would still recommend that you watch this drama as it is very atmospheric and the acting is on the whole good, especially the wonderful Anna Maxwell Martin, who is always very watchable, as is Clare Foy.
Reviewed by
Moments of greatness
Adapting a book to the screen is tough. You need to be brutal, cutting away entire plot lines, even characters to serve your purpose. I haven't read The Night Watch but this adaptation shows all the signs of a too-reverential approach. That's a shame because it gets a lot of things right, a few breathtakingly so. In those moments, it's unlike anything I've seen. You could pitch it as Aimee and Jaguar meets The End of the Affair but at its best it's better than either of those films. It's Anna Maxwell Martin's portrayal of Kay Langrish that takes it to those heights. Claire Foy turns in a wonderful performance but she has less to work with. Unfortunately, The Night Watch is also saddled with at least one too many plot strands and a stunning miscalculation in thinking that Bath and or Bristol could double for wartime London. I know it's hard to find much of the capital that hasn't been tarted up since 1945 but west country stone and Georgian porticos, along with hills that put Lisbon to shame, don't fool anyone. And there are other misjudgments. There's a technical device which is used three times. You'll know it when you see it. The first use is amazing, emotionally spot on. The second is just confusing and the third downright clunky. As is some of the dialogue. "War changes people... and not necessarily for the better." In a book, that leadenly expositional second phrase may be necessary. In a film, it's amateurish. With a firmer, more demanding hand, this might have stood as a genuinely great work. Even as is, it's better than almost anything else you'll find on British or American TV so enjoy, despite the flaws. You won't regret it.