I write this review, 25 years to the day of the liberation of The Falkland Islands. It is a review, I feel compelled to write in honour of all British servicemen killed in that brief conflict in 1982. I'm sure the Argentines have different views and feelings about the events which occurred between 2nd April - 14 June 1982, but just like The Falklands Play, my review intends to give a solely British perspective.
The Falklands War, (or 'conflict' to give it's correct suffix), was the first war Britain had fought in my lifetime. It occurred shortly before my 9th birthday, but I remember it all as if it were yesterday. My father rushing into the garden to tell my brother and I that 'Were going down to give the Argie's some stick', the immense pride we all felt watching HMS Invincible setting sail with great pomp and circumstance, with all those brave lads aboard and the sadness and horror we all felt when the news of our Naval and Military loses started to filter through to the UK news services. It was awful when we heard HMS Coventry was sunk, not only was it the ship of our city, but one of our relatives was serving on the ship at the time and thankfully was not one of the 19 servicemen lost on the ship that day.
As I said earlier, 'The Falklands Play' gives a British ONLY viewpoint of the Argentine invasion of British Sovereign Territory and our Governments subsequent yet fruitless attempts to negotiate and defuse the situation by diplomatic means.
Patricia Hodge gives a truly fantastic performance as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who seeing an act of aggression committed against British subjects, refuses to concede to the appeasement demands made by The Argentines, The Americans mediators and even members of her own Cabinet.
In some scenes, Hodge shows us the softer side to the 'Iron Lady', like her obvious frustration about having to order the sinking of the Argentine Cruiser 'General Belgrano', (formerly the American Cruiser USS Phoenix CL-46, a ship that had actually survived the Pearl Harbor attack 40 years earlier). We see her openly weeping when she first hears news of HMS Sheffield being hit by an Exocet anti-ship missile, and the sleepless night she experiences while worried about the stranded Marines, trapped on the unforgiving snow covered rocks of South Georgia. However, most of these instances occurred behind closed doors. In public 'Maggie' remained unwavering in her support for the besieged islanders and resolute in her stance.
Other cast members are also outstanding, James Fox, as Lord Carrington, John Standing as William 'Willie' Whitelaw and Clive Merrison as John Nott. However, it is Colin Stinton who plays US Secretary Of State Alexander Haig that gives one of my favourite performances. My favourite character, (apart from Patricia Hodge as Thatcher), is John Woodvine's performance as Former 1st Sea Lord, Admiral of The Fleet and Chief Of Defence Staff, the late Sir Terence Lewin. He's the guy Maggie could not do without, and Woodvine plays his part magnificently, a great actor, playing and even greater man. Bob Sherman's portrayal of President Ronald Reagan, is sadly one of the weakest performances here, turning the 'Great Communicator' into a stuttering, indecisive bumbler instead of the great man he was.
The Falklands Play, even boasts some subtle humour in parts, but due to it's serious subject matter, it's kept to a minimum because when you're making a film about war, especially one so fresh in some people's minds, to include laughs would be treading a very dangerous tightrope indeed.
Whether any of the things we see in 'The Falklands Play' actually happened verbatim, we will never know as the play comes straight out of writer Ian Cureais's head. All I know is that 'The Falklands Play' is an enjoyable piece of screen work.
There are some that says it glorifies 'Thatcherism', maybe it does, but it's a movie made in one time, about events that occurred in another. There was a war, people died, and thanks to both Maragret Thatchers truculence, and the UK armed forces, (still the best fighting force in the world), Britain won it, but not without price.
25 years on, I would like to pay my tribute to all who died and praise the courage of all the Falkland Islanders who were effected by those events 25 years ago. To them, I quote their own Island's motto .... "Desire The Right"
We certainly didn't let them down.
The Falklands War, (or 'conflict' to give it's correct suffix), was the first war Britain had fought in my lifetime. It occurred shortly before my 9th birthday, but I remember it all as if it were yesterday. My father rushing into the garden to tell my brother and I that 'Were going down to give the Argie's some stick', the immense pride we all felt watching HMS Invincible setting sail with great pomp and circumstance, with all those brave lads aboard and the sadness and horror we all felt when the news of our Naval and Military loses started to filter through to the UK news services. It was awful when we heard HMS Coventry was sunk, not only was it the ship of our city, but one of our relatives was serving on the ship at the time and thankfully was not one of the 19 servicemen lost on the ship that day.
As I said earlier, 'The Falklands Play' gives a British ONLY viewpoint of the Argentine invasion of British Sovereign Territory and our Governments subsequent yet fruitless attempts to negotiate and defuse the situation by diplomatic means.
Patricia Hodge gives a truly fantastic performance as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who seeing an act of aggression committed against British subjects, refuses to concede to the appeasement demands made by The Argentines, The Americans mediators and even members of her own Cabinet.
In some scenes, Hodge shows us the softer side to the 'Iron Lady', like her obvious frustration about having to order the sinking of the Argentine Cruiser 'General Belgrano', (formerly the American Cruiser USS Phoenix CL-46, a ship that had actually survived the Pearl Harbor attack 40 years earlier). We see her openly weeping when she first hears news of HMS Sheffield being hit by an Exocet anti-ship missile, and the sleepless night she experiences while worried about the stranded Marines, trapped on the unforgiving snow covered rocks of South Georgia. However, most of these instances occurred behind closed doors. In public 'Maggie' remained unwavering in her support for the besieged islanders and resolute in her stance.
Other cast members are also outstanding, James Fox, as Lord Carrington, John Standing as William 'Willie' Whitelaw and Clive Merrison as John Nott. However, it is Colin Stinton who plays US Secretary Of State Alexander Haig that gives one of my favourite performances. My favourite character, (apart from Patricia Hodge as Thatcher), is John Woodvine's performance as Former 1st Sea Lord, Admiral of The Fleet and Chief Of Defence Staff, the late Sir Terence Lewin. He's the guy Maggie could not do without, and Woodvine plays his part magnificently, a great actor, playing and even greater man. Bob Sherman's portrayal of President Ronald Reagan, is sadly one of the weakest performances here, turning the 'Great Communicator' into a stuttering, indecisive bumbler instead of the great man he was.
The Falklands Play, even boasts some subtle humour in parts, but due to it's serious subject matter, it's kept to a minimum because when you're making a film about war, especially one so fresh in some people's minds, to include laughs would be treading a very dangerous tightrope indeed.
Whether any of the things we see in 'The Falklands Play' actually happened verbatim, we will never know as the play comes straight out of writer Ian Cureais's head. All I know is that 'The Falklands Play' is an enjoyable piece of screen work.
There are some that says it glorifies 'Thatcherism', maybe it does, but it's a movie made in one time, about events that occurred in another. There was a war, people died, and thanks to both Maragret Thatchers truculence, and the UK armed forces, (still the best fighting force in the world), Britain won it, but not without price.
25 years on, I would like to pay my tribute to all who died and praise the courage of all the Falkland Islanders who were effected by those events 25 years ago. To them, I quote their own Island's motto .... "Desire The Right"
We certainly didn't let them down.