Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson - Still a double act worth saluting! BRIAN VINER reviews The Great Escaper

The Great Escaper

Verdict: The champion of British

Rating:

The Exorcist: Believer

Verdict: Scary, but not terrifying 

Rating:

The communicative of Roger Bushell, who masterminded nan 1944 wide break-out from nan Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war campy that was immortalised successful nan movie The Great Escape, was published successful paperback successful March 2014. Understandably, nan book was called The Great Escaper.

We tin only conjecture whether a doughty but little distinguished World War II seasoned called Bernard Jordan publication that book astir Bushell (who inspired nan characteristic played by Richard Attenborough successful nan 1963 movie). But we do cognize that conscionable 2 months aft publication, rather unwittingly and evidently to his embarrassment, he went and usurped its title.

It is Bernie's real-life story, not Bushell's, that gets told successful Oliver Parker's rubbing movie The Great Escaper. But he, too, is played by surface royalty: Sir Michael Caine.

The movie covers nan events of 48 hours. 'Bernie' is 89, surviving softly pinch his ailing woman Rene, short for Irene, (Glenda Jackson, looking genuinely ancient and evidently not caring a jot) successful a mini level successful a attraction location successful Hove, East Sussex.

He was a starring seaman during nan tumult of D-Day, responsible for letting tanks connected to nan beach. So he is alternatively miffed to beryllium told that he's applied excessively precocious to subordinate a Royal British Legion travel to France to people nan 70th day of nan landings.

With Rene's blessing, but without telling nan care-home staff, he duly decides to make his ain way, taking a taxi to Dover and past catching a cross-Channel ferry.

On nan travel he is befriended by different D-Day veteran, Arthur (the fantabulous John Standing). His vowels are cut-glass, Bernie's are much broken-glass, but they enslaved complete their shared history.

At first it seems that Bernie, for whom nan travel has triggered traumatic flashbacks, is nan much susceptible of nan pair. But Arthur has his demons, too. Indeed, they some person achy secrets that they person kept to themselves for 70 years.

Meanwhile, backmost successful Hove, nan care-home unit person raised nan alarm. The constabulary commencement looking for Bernie, only calling disconnected nan hunt erstwhile Rene explains wherever he's gone. On societal media nan constabulary denote that Bernie is safe, wryly utilizing nan hashtag The Great Escaper. That promptly goes viral, though it's not until Rene sees a TV study and past nan Daily Mail's beforehand page that she realises her beloved Bernie has go nan taxable of a world story.

There's a adjacent dollop of melodramatic licence successful William Ivory's screenplay (Arthur, for instance, is wholly fictionalised), but Parker confidently navigates nan switches backmost and distant crossed nan Channel.

Moreover, though nan attraction is connected Bernie, he makes nan astir of nan mighty Jackson, giving what was to beryllium her last capacity earlier her decease successful June. It's a pleasance to watch her, arsenic Rene, playing her swing-band euphony and giving nan unit hell.

There are switches backmost and distant successful time, too, besides nicely handled, pinch Laura Marcus and Will Fletcher very believably playing nan young Rene and Bernie successful their courting days. Seven decades on, nan couple's chemistry is undimmed.

At heart, this movie is their emotion story, but it is besides a powerful communicative of reconciliation. At nan start, Bernie is truthful anti-German that he won't moreover eat Black Forest gateau, yet there's a hugely affecting segment successful a Normandy barroom erstwhile he salutes a group of Wehrmacht veterans, besides location to salary their respects to fallen comrades.

I was likewise touched by nan spectacle of dozens of ex-servicemen opinionated isolated connected Sword Beach almost for illustration Anthony Gormley statues, together successful tone but unsocial pinch their memories.

There are a mates of mini quibbles. I didn't wholly bargain nan encounters betwixt Bernie and a much caller veteran, who mislaid a limb serving successful Afghanistan and whose PTSD symptoms nan aged sailor recognises.

But The Great Escaper ne'er lurches into clunky sentimentality, and whenever it looks arsenic if it might, Caine and Jackson propulsion it back. This isn't rather nan former's last fling — he's said to beryllium featuring successful 1 past movie earlier he retires for bully — but what a joyousness to find him and Jackson, almost 50 years aft they appeared together successful The Romantic Englishwoman (1975), showing that you tin beryllium arsenic aged arsenic nan hills yet still astatine nan apical of your game.

The aforesaid is so, successful The Exorcist: Believer, of 90-year-old Ellen Burstyn. She plays Chris MacNeil conscionable arsenic splendidly arsenic she did half a period agone successful William Friedkin's terrifying 1973 masterpiece The Exorcist. Then, it was Chris's girl Regan who was possessed by nan devil. Now, successful David Gordon Green's highly anticipated follow-up, it's a brace of 13-year-old girls, schoolfriends Angela (Lidya Jewett) and Katherine (Olivia Marcum), pinch Chris arsenic nan aged sage who's seen it each earlier and mightiness conscionable beryllium capable to help.

This is not nan first 'sequel' to The Exorcist. John Boorman gave it a whirl pinch nan thoroughly ill-conceived Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), and still wishes he hadn't bothered. The Exorcist III (1990) was only somewhat better.

But this 1 is worthy seeing, if only for nan powerful first half, successful which nan 2 girls spell missing successful nan Georgia woods for 3 days causing anguish for their parents: Angela's azygous dada Victor (Leslie Odom Jr), an agnostic, and Katherine's church-going folks.

That depiction of a peculiar benignant of scary communicative is highly good done, but really nan movie loses its measurement arsenic nan supernatural magnitude builds, culminating successful an extravagantly overwrought exorcism scene. I still felt chills, though, without ever rather leaving my spot successful a ceiling-wards direction, arsenic I did watching nan original done my fingers.

• A type of The Great Escaper reappraisal ran successful August.

Also showing: Jamie Foxx's hotshot lawyer sets nan tribunal connected fire 

The Burial

Rating:

Mind-Set  

Rating:

Golda 

Rating:

Jamie Foxx is connected rip-roaring shape arsenic flamboyant individual wounded lawyer Willie E Gary successful The Burial, a compellingly witty and engaging play based connected existent events.

When a powerful 'death-care' corp tries to cheat Mississippi funeral-home proprietor Jerry O'Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones, besides superb), he hires Willie to correspond him. The lawsuit concerns statement law, extracurricular his area of expertise, but much importantly it will beryllium heard successful a mediocre county, earlier a achromatic judge and jury.

That's why Jerry wants Willie connected his side, overmuch to nan annoyance of his long-time attorney, a achromatic racist splendidly played by Alan Ruck (the hapless Connor Roy successful nan TV deed Succession). It's a tremendously satisfying film, directed and co-written by Maggie Betts.

I besides really liked Mind-Set, a low-budget British play astir nan narration betwixt depressive Lucy (Eilis Cahill) and agoraphobic Paul (Steve Oram). That doesn't sound for illustration overmuch fun, and immoderate of it isn't, but really Mikey Murray's monochrome movie has oodles of wit and poignant charm. And incidentally it's nan cleanable antidote to each those movies that picture activity arsenic earth-movingly euphoric and fabulous. I'll opportunity nary more.

Golda, group during nan 1973 Yom Kippur War, stars Helen Mirren arsenic nan formidable Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The prosthetics and assemblage suit utilized to move nan glamorous Mirren into nan homely Meir person been criticised, and from immoderate angles she does look a spot for illustration an other from Lord Of The Rings.

More problematically, nan screenplay gets terribly bogged down successful speech betwixt politicians successful smoke-filled rooms. I recovered it tedious, which is simply a shame because, arsenic usual, Mirren is terrific.