Have not seen enough of Lone Scherfig's work to share my opinion of her as a director, but of the little seen 'An Education' is an excellent film. The premise for 'Their Finest' also fascinated, perhaps not the most original of ones but very clever and that it was set during one of Britain's toughest periods in history added to the intrigue. And then there was the cast, filled with immensely talented actors with Bill Nighy being the biggest attraction in a role that sounded on paper perfect for him.

While it is not my definition of a great film, or one devoid of flaws, 'Their Finest' still managed to be a pleasant diversion with much to like. The pace and a couple of aspects of the story don't always work and one performance and some of the chemistry didn't do much for me, but mostly it's well made, acted and has gentle amusement and heart. It won't work for all tastebuds, but it is easy to see why people have found and will find appeal in it.

Beginning with what 'Their Finest' doesn't quite work in, Sam Claflin is for my tastes rather bland and looked a bit awkward. He doesn't have much chemistry with Gemma Arterton, or at least one that feels natural or compelling.

The romantic element felt underdeveloped and shoehorned, not much to it really. Some of the film drags, particularly towards the end.

However, there is a lot good. 'Their Finest' is beautifully and atmospherically shot and the recreation of the period is elegant while not too glossy (one does get a sense that it was a cruel time for Britain),true to it too. Rachel Portman brings her usual sumptuous orchestration and romantic yet never syrupy style to a music score that matches the pleasant tone of the story well. The script is gently amusing and charming and while the story execution is less than perfect it doesn't waste the film within a film premise, which is cleverly, entertainingly and affectionately handled.

Ending did leave me very misty-eyed, while the justice and sacrifice themes add depth and didn't feel tacked on. The performances mostly are fine, with the top honours going to the absolute joy that is Nighy and true to what it sounded on paper the character fitted him like a glove. Arterton is bewitching in the lead role too, and Rachel Stirling is a delight. There is even a deliciously theatrical Secretary of War courtesy from Jeremy Irons.

In conclusion, not great but pleasant. 7/10

It's 1940 and London is under heavy bombardment. Expecting to be a secretary, Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) is hired by Ministry of Information to give scripts a female touch. Her 'husband' is a struggling artist with a gimpy leg from the Spanish war. She is given the real story of twin sisters Lily and Rose stealing their father's boat to go to Dunkirk. Once there, she finds the truth is different from the news story. She decides to spin half-truths to her superiors to continue the project. Tom Buckley (Sam Claflin) is her impossible head writer and Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy) is an acting diva. As they rush to finish the film, the story gets changed and a relationship develops.

The actors are good. The story is touching but like the fictional movie inside the movie, some artificial manipulation starts to show. It has its poignant tear-jerker fun. The big acting moment from Gemma is a half and half proposition where it feels somewhat manufactured although it is very in keeping with the concept of the movie. Gemma is a solid lead dealing with all the emotions and issues. Bill Nighy is terrific as usual. Sam Claflin transitions well. It's all very good.

"Their Finest" is a British /Swedish (for whatever reason) movie that premiered last year (2016) and it is the most recent directorial effort by Lone Scherfig, a filmmaker that I enjoyed some of her career efforts. This time she is not credited as the writer, but Gaby Chiappe wrote her very first screenplay here by adapting Lissa Evans' novel. Chiappe still has been prolific in other fields looking at her body of work. The film comes pretty close to the 2-hour mark and almost all scenes involve former Bond girl Gemma Arterton's character as she is put in charge of writing a screen play that will emphasize the importance of the female gender during the dark days of World War II. So yes, it is somewhat of another war film, but the "film on film" aspect that is crucial from start to finish is a really interesting basis for the story here and actually adds something new that we have (or I have) not yet seen in these hundreds of films centering on World War II. It is good that it is not about the military or about politics, but about the individual fate of Miss Catrin Cole.

I have one major criticism though and this refers to the romance component. The way it was handled here I could have done without it completely. The low point was probably the cheating scene that felt like taken out of some embarrassing telenovela. I am positive Miss Cole would have hated it too. So it was almost a revelation near the very end when the guy gets killed, even if it broke her heart. It also made a nice reference back to the unpredictable cruelties of war that we had almost forgotten by that point. Actually in reference to that death scene, I liked the previous comment by the older writer about how war will get every young man eventually and it certainly is a bit of a forecast on what might happen. Back to Arterton, she had some good moments really, especially towards the end, and proves she is lead actress material and more than a (truly)stunning face with an equally stunning body. She was definitely one of the better components from this film and yet I don't think this is close to the best I have seen from her, which may also not only be because of her performance, but also because of the material really. The romance plot was cheesy and stupid and should have been left out (almost) in its entirety. I'd have been fine with her returning to her man eventually or the other way around perhaps. Also the connections between the film characters' fates in terms of romance and Arterton's character weren't functioning either. Without these and maybe some of the emancipation scenes (like salary equality early on),it could have been a really great movie, perhaps one of the finest of 2017.

But yeah like I said these shortcomings may have had to do with the writer's inexperience. For a rookie script, it was nonetheless quite convincing. Every time the movie is about the movie within, it truly shines. This is also thanks to Bill Nighy who has great material to work with in here and also makes it work excellently, the serious as well as the (more frequent) comedic scenes. He proves again that basically nothing has changed in the last 15 years or more and that he is one of the finest supporting actors out there. Just give the man an Oscar nomination already. I doubt he'll get it for his turn here, but it would be very much deserving as with considerably less screen time, he is at least as memorable in here as Arterton and totally elevates the overall material. This film has flaws here and there, but the positive is still definitely more frequent than the negative. Go watch it and I hope you won't be disappointed and enjoy it as much as I did. The lesser known recent Dunkirk movie, but perhaps the better even.