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16 October 2012 9:00 AM, PDT | HeyUGuys.co.uk | See recent HeyUGuys news »

You’d be forgiven for confusing Private Peaceful with one of this year’s Best Picture nominees at the Academy Awards. Both are based on a Michael Morpurgo novel that was adapted into a successful stage play. Both feature sun-dappled depictions of rural England, decidedly dodgy ’Westcountry’ accents and a sentimental, yet powerful take on the horrors of the First World War. Both include talented young British actors alongside solid veterans.

But – and here’s the rub – only War Horse had Steven Spielberg in the director’s chair. Pat O’Connor (Circle of Friends, Dancing at Lughnasa) is a reliable pair of hands, but his first film in 11 years has more in common with the gentle, Goodnight Mister Tom school of period dramas than big-budget, Oscar-bait epics.

On the eve of a court martial and possible death sentence on the Western Front, Tommo Peaceful (George Mackay) looks back on his life – a bucolic, »

- Lewis Bazley

1 item from 2012