A straightforward adaptation of the classic Shute wartime novel (being a fan of his for more than 35 years) which gave the readers of the next generation a look and feel of wartime England with the last remnants of its class distinctions and taboos. The romance in the book is not really captured in the film as the lead actor (curiously named Rick while in the book it was Gerry - an allusion to his Germanic looks) tends to be a little too exuberant in his role whilst the book character was more of a youth whose adventurous spirit came out in wartime. Thankfully the name of the heroine was not changed as it was too exquisite -Mona, but the actress shows too much of poise which the character in the book did not exude, and also the actress never really brought out the character as penned by Shute. That is the spoiler part of my review but otherwise the script follows the book quite closely and the settings in black and white does capture the flavour of an England that people of our generation read about.
I had been trying very hard to view this film and was lucky to have a copy recently. Any fan of Shute should view this film
Krishna Kumar Meno, Chennai
Review of Landfall
