Glorious 39
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''Glorious 39'' is a 2009 British
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
written and directed by
Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...
, starring
Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai ( ; born 6 August 1982) is a Hong Kong-born British actress and film director. Known for her extensive work on stage and screen, she often acts in period films. Her early film roles include '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (2002), '' ...
, Bill Nighy,
Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institu ...
,
Jeremy Northam Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor. His film credits include '' The Net'' (1995), '' Emma'' (1996), '' An Ideal Husband'' (1999), '' Amistad'' (1997), ''The Winslow Boy'' (1999), ''Gosford Park'' (2001) and '' Eni ...
, Christopher Lee,
David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
,
Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children'': the BBC's 1968 television seri ...
,
Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...
and Charlie Cox. The film was released on 20 November 2009. On the eve of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, as the formidable Keyes family tries to uphold its traditional way of life, daughter Anne sees her life dramatically unravel when she stumbles upon secret recordings of the
appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...
movement.


Plot

In present-day
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, Michael Walton visits his older cousins, Walter and Oliver Page. Interested in family history, he asks them about his great-aunt, Anne Keyes, the sister of his grandmother, Celia. Anne, an actress, was the eldest of the three Keyes children. Desperate for children, her father, Sir Alexander, a Member of Parliament and mother, Maud, had adopted her. Maud subsequently gave birth to Ralph and Celia. Michael is curious to learn what happened to Anne, which leads Walter to reminisce about the summer of 1939 at the Keyes' estate in Norfolk. On Sir Alexander's birthday, Anne has prepared a table in the garden to celebrate. Anne's friend, the outspoken MP Hector and her lover, the reserved Lawrence, are present for the festivities. When Sir Alexander arrives, he brings a guest, the quiet government employee Joseph Balcombe. During dinner, Hector rants about Britain's lack of action against
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. It is later revealed that he has been one of those calling out for a new prime minister. The next day, while looking for a cat in one of the property's sheds, which are out of bounds as they are used for storing Sir Alexander's private papers, Anne finds gramophone records, labelled "
Foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...
". They prove to contain recorded meetings and telephone conversations. Sir Alexander reveals that he has allowed Balcombe to store government documents in the shed. Two weeks later, Anne is notified that Hector has been found dead from an apparent suicide. Anne wonders if Balcombe had anything to do with Hector's death. Sir Alexander brushes off the idea but offers to ask Balcombe to remove the records from the shed, which he promises to do the next day during a picnic. There, the picnickers go for a walk, leaving Anne to watch over the baby Oliver. She awakens to find Oliver and his pushchair missing. She follows his cries to no avail and she comes across young Walter and accuses him of playing a game. When the family returns, they search. Balcombe insists on searching with Anne through the lane even though she has already searched there, but they find him in his pushchair on a lane. Anne denies moving the baby, but the incident plants a seed of doubt about Anne's word. Balcombe removes the records that night, but Anne secretly keeps two of them. The family returns to London because Parliament has been recalled. There, Anne listens to the records. One contains a recording of a distressed Hector pleading with Balcombe to cease calling him and his parents about his personal life. The maid bursts into the room, which causes the gramophone to fall and the record to break into pieces. On 1 September, Anne gives a second record to her fellow actor and friend, Gilbert, who closely follows politics. The next day, he arrives to their scene late and clearly upset, and the director insists that they begin shooting immediately. The news that Britain has declared war on Germany is announced, and Gilbert is later found dead from apparent suicide. When Anne watches her final scene with Gilbert, she is stunned to realise that a supposed flub in which he changes his line from, "You should listen to me, Jenny" to "You should listen to it again, Anne" was really meant for her. Anne travels back to Norfolk to keep Aunt Elizabeth company, and she listens to the second recording again. At the end, she recognises Balcombe's voice discussing their plots to pressure and silence men like Hector. Suddenly she hears the voice of her brother, Ralph, who suggests the name "Thin Man Dancing" for their covert operation, a reference to a childhood toy. At a party in London, Anne tells Lawrence of Ralph's involvement, but he already knows. Lawrence convinces Anne to bring him the recording at a rendezvous at a suburban veterinary surgery. After Anne finds Lawrence's body in a shed filled with euthanised pets, she escapes and gives the recording to a child, who promises to post it to Churchill. She is subsequently recaptured, drugged by her father, and held prisoner in Aunt Elizabeth's house, which is close to
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
. Balcombe pays her a visit and shows her the second recording, which he had intercepted. He tells her that it had been made for her father. He also informs her that their house in London is being used for series of pro-appeasement meetings that her father is chairing. Sir Alexander later admits to her that he believes that Britain will be destroyed unless it secures an early peace with Germany. He says that she is the only member of the family that does not share his beliefs and so they are keeping her secure. They deprive her of water and leave her to die, but after some time, Maud releases her while the rest of the family is at the park. Anne goes past them, and when they act as if nothing happened, she runs away. Back in the present, Walter tells Michael that Anne had died in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
twenty years ago and that he had just been doing what his family and Balcombe had wanted. It is then revealed that Balcombe had convinced Walter to move Oliver's pushchair into the lane. Michael asks Oliver and Walter to accompany him to meet his mother. They travel to the same park that Anne had last seen her family. A woman, Michael's mother, wheels an elderly woman towards them. That elderly woman is Anne, and Michael tells them that he knew the truth all along but wanted to hear it from them.


Cast

*
Romola Garai Romola Sadie Garai ( ; born 6 August 1982) is a Hong Kong-born British actress and film director. Known for her extensive work on stage and screen, she often acts in period films. Her early film roles include '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (2002), '' ...
as Anne Keyes, an actress and eldest Keyes child. Ralph refers to her as "Glorious". * Bill Nighy as Sir Alexander, Anne's father, Member of Parliament and First World War veteran. *
Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institu ...
as Elizabeth, Anne's aunt. *
David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
as Hector, a family friend and Member of Parliament * Christopher Lee as Walter Page * Sam Kubrick-Finney as young Walter Page *
Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...
as Ralph, Anne's brother * Juno Temple as Celia, Anne's sister *
Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children'': the BBC's 1968 television seri ...
as Maud, Anne's mother *
Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams (born 10 November 1963), known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' from ...
as Gilbert Williams, an actor friend of Anne * Charlie Cox as Lawrence, Anne's lover * Corin Redgrave as Oliver Page *
Jeremy Northam Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor. His film credits include '' The Net'' (1995), '' Emma'' (1996), '' An Ideal Husband'' (1999), '' Amistad'' (1997), ''The Winslow Boy'' (1999), ''Gosford Park'' (2001) and '' Eni ...
as Joseph Balcombe, a shady government operative * Toby Regbo as Michael Walton, Anne's grandnephew * Muriel Pavlow as Old Anne Keyes


Production

Much of the filming took place in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, where the film is set. Filming began in late October 2008 and concluded in December 2008. The ruins of
Castle Acre Priory Castle Acre Priory was a Cluniac priory in the village of Castle Acre, Norfolk, England, dedicated to St Mary, St Peter, and St Paul. It is thought to have been founded in 1089 by William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (the son of the ...
and Walsingham Priory feature prominently as favourite haunts of the Keyes siblings. Other locations include the Cley Marshes,
Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of ...
and Houghton Hall.


Reviews

* ''The Guardian'': "Stephen Poliakoff's pre-second world war conspiracy thriller never zips the way it should, but it's still a solid, old-school entertainment."


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Glorious 39 2009 films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films British war films British World War II films Films about actors Films about adoption Films about father–daughter relationships Films about kidnapping in the United Kingdom Films about assassinations Films about Romani people Films set in 1939 Films set in 2008 Films set in London Films set in Norfolk Films set in country houses Films shot in Buckinghamshire Films shot in England Films shot in London Films shot in Norfolk Films directed by Stephen Poliakoff Films scored by Adrian Johnston (musician) BBC Film films Ealing Studios films Magic Light Pictures films