AT midnight GMT on May 8, 1945, peace in Europe was declared after almost six years of World War II. Julian Jarrold’s film purporting to portray that night’s events opened in Australia six days after the 70th anniversary of peace.
The Brits were out on London’s streets with flag waving, dancing, immoderate drinking, men in uniform embracing women they hadn’t met, singing the popular songs that helped sustain British spirits during those awful six years, bands in up-market venues playing jazz classics (great numbers, great performances), boys and girls going in to play grown up games in private. And business as usual in that big house at the far end of the Mall where a middle-aged couple (Rupert Everett and Emily Watson) and their two daughters were going about their customary business.
To this point, this summarises the bare bones of that night’s celebrations. But this review deals with fiction, after mummy and daddy somewhat reluctantly agree that the youngsters might go out and join in the fun. But be home by midnight – “Oh, can’t we stay a little longer?” Alright, but be home by 1am sharp. And here is a pair of pretty young army subalterns to chaperone you.
The best laid plans of monarch and consort can go agley. Trevor De Silva and Kevin Hood’s screenplay has 19-year-old Elizabeth, aka Lilibet, and Margaret Rose, not quite 15, doing something completely new – going alone among the British people. It’s a compendium of moments that might have happened, ranging from comic passages, mostly involving Margaret (Bel Powley) and Lieutenants Dum and Dee Tweedle supposed to be chaperoning the girls, to serious interchanges between Elizabeth and a young Bomber Command NCO (Jack Reynor) accused of Lack of Moral Fibre after 50 operations, facing discipline and despatch to a war still raging in Asia and the Pacific.
It’s quite pleasant. Its core plot is not particularly credible. I wonder what the present chatelaine of the big house at the top of the Mall, the only person on the planet who knows what, if anything, really happened that night, might think of it. No force on earth can make her tell.
At Palace Electric, Dendy, Capitol 6 and Hoyts
The post Review / ‘A Royal Night Out’ (M) ** and a half appeared first on Canberra CityNews.