Glorious 39 (2009)

The adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.

Director:

Stephen Poliakoff

Writer:

Stephen Poliakoff

Stars:

Romola Garai, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romola Garai	...	Anne
Eddie Redmayne	...	Ralph
Juno Temple	...	Celia
Toby Regbo	...	Michael
Christopher Lee	...	Walter
Corin Redgrave	...	Oliver
Charlie Cox	...	Lawrence
David Tennant	...	Hector
Bill Nighy	...	Alexander
Jeremy Northam	...	Balcombe
Katharine Burford	...	Lucy
Jenny Agutter	...	Maud
Julie Christie	...	Aunt Elizabeth
Hugh Bonneville	...	Gilbert
Asier Newman	...	Mick

Storyline

1939 is set between present-day London and the idyllic British countryside in the time before the beginning of the Second World War. At a time of uncertainty and high tension, the story revolves around the formidable Keyes family, who are keen to uphold and preserve their very traditional way of life. The eldest sibling Anne is a budding young actress who is in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence, but her seemingly perfect life begins to dramatically unravel when she stumbles across secret recordings of the pro-appeasement movement. While trying to discover the origin of these recordings, dark secrets are revealed which lead to the death of a great friend. As war breaks out Anne discovers the truth and flees to London to try to confirm her suspicions, but she is caught and imprisoned and only then does she finally begin to discover how badly she has been betrayed.

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Plot Keywords:

adopted daughter | foreign office | actress | hitchcockian | animal cremation | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent images, language and brief sexuality/nudity

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

1939

Filming Locations:

Castle Acre Priory, Swaffham, Norfolk, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£7,654 (United Kingdom), 22 November 2009, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, UK Film Council, Screen East Content Investment Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second time David Tennant and Bill Nighy have worked together. They were both in the mini-series He Knew He Was Right (2004). They are also Doctor Who alumni. David as the Tenth Doctor, and Bill as Mr. Bill in season five, episode ten, "Vincent and the Doctor", with Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor.

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Quotes

Elizabeth: This little war makes everything uncertain...

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Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 12 August 2011 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Goody Goody
(Johnny Mercer, Matty Malneck)
© 1935 The Johnny Mercer Foundation (ASCAP) and Chappell & Co. Inc (ASCAP)
All rights on behalf of the The Johnny Mercer Foundation
Administered by WB Music Corp. All rights reserved
Performed by Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy
Courtesy of GRP Records
Licensed by kind permission of Universal Music Operation Ltd.

User Reviews

Self-parody

Stephen Polliakoff's work has shown some consistent concerns: two of them are a nostalgic view of the aristocratic past, and an interest in the aftermath of Nazism. These two come together in 'Glorious 39', which one may describe as a '39 Steps' kind of thriller; and in its middle portion, it's briefly gripping, albeit in a style that seems a deliberate pastiche of an earlier style of film. But overall, it's a rum beast, almost a parody of Polliakoff's earlier work. There are lines of incongruous or anachronistic dialogue, and much of the acting is exceedingly flat. Polliakof often casts Bill Nighy, and seems to order him to underact; in my opinion, all of Nighy's performances for this director are awful. The child acting is also exceedingly wooden. Ramola Garai in the lead role is OK, but she really gets almost no help; yet from the overall feel of the piece, it's hard to avoid concluding that this is intentional. The plot is incoherent and hackneyed: the good guys all want to fight the Nazis, the nasty people don't; even the use of an adopted child as the lead character seems to be a cheap way of having a cake and eating it, as it allows the director to revel in the aristocratic excess while simultaneously suggesting there was something terrible about it. The concluding scene, meanwhile, makes something out of nothing, a crescendo of music hiding the fact that there's no real drama in the ending. It's a shame, as for a number of years, Polliakoff's work was consistently interesting; but this is a mess.