Queen And Country (film)
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''Queen and Country'' is a 2014 British
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
written and directed by
John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing feature films such as '' Point Blank'' (1967), '' Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), '' Zardoz'' ...
. It was screened at the
Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...
section of the
2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition. French actor Lambert Wilson hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Turkish filmmaker Nuri ...
. The film is a sequel to Boorman's '' Hope and Glory'' (1987), and features several of the same characters, although, because of the passage of time,
David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director from Glasgow. His acting credits include '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986), '' Hope and Glory'' (1987), '' Rob Roy'' (1995), '' The Jackal'' (1997), '' Tri ...
is the only actor from the first film to reprise his role.


Plot

On
Pharaoh's Island Pharaoh's Island ( ''Jazīratu Firawn''), whose current popular name is Coral Island, is a small island in the northern Gulf of Aqaba some east off the shore of Egypt's eastern Sinai Peninsula. Some scholars identify this island port with bib ...
, Bill is now 18 and receives his call-up papers for
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
. Reporting to the army training camp, he quickly makes friends with fellow-conscript Percy. Though most of their intake are sent off to fight in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, he and Percy are made sergeants and spend their days teaching typing. The bane of their life is Sergeant-Major Bradley, a decorated veteran of
World War II 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 ...
who is obsessive about doing things by the book. An ally against Bradley is the orderly Redmond, who teaches them the military arts of "skiving" (evading work). However, Bradley succeeds in getting Bill charged with subverting a private's will to fight by telling him some truths about Korea. The case is thrown out when Bill shows that all he said had been printed in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''. Outside the camp, both friends explore what the town offers by way of women. Bill falls for a beautiful but depressive upper-class girl he calls Ophelia, while Percy is smitten by a bubbly student nurse called Sophie (who throws out some lures to Bill as well). On leave for the
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...
, Percy steals a car to join Bill, who is with his family on the Island. Both are delighted to find Bill's renegade sister Dawn, who has returned from Canada, and Dawn is soon charming Percy. Ophelia makes a brief visit but has to dash back into London. On the television, the family spot her in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
as one of the nobility, something which Bill did not know. Back in camp, Bill gets word that Ophelia is again in hospital with mental problems and, when he visits her, she rejects him callously. Shocked and in tears, he is found by Sophie, who leads him to an empty room and takes his virginity. Percy then confides that he lost his to Dawn. Percy finds military life a strain and with Redmond concocts an absurd scheme to steal the mess clock; a gift to the Regiment from
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. An investigation pinpoints his guilt, upon which Redmond betrays him. A
court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...
sentences him to military prison and Bill is allowed to escort him there in handcuffs. Dawn jumps on the train and says she will wait for him. Bill then goes to visit Bradley, who has cracked under the strain of Percy's persecution and is in a military hospital on mental grounds but Bradley rejects him. In a ward he meets Private Henderson, one of the soldiers from his typing class, who has lost a foot in Korea. Back on the Island, Sophie is in the river acting while Bill with a new film camera is filming her. Leaving the camera running, he jumps in to embrace her.


Cast

*
Callum Turner Callum Robilliard Turner (born 15 February 1990) is an English actor. After beginning a career as a fashion model, he began working in film and television. He had lead roles in the drama film '' Queen and Country'' (2014) and the mystery minise ...
as Bill Rohan *
Vanessa Kirby Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1987 or 1988) is an English actress and producer. She rose to international prominence with her portrayal of Princess Margaret in the Netflix drama series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017), for which she won the Bri ...
as Dawn Rohan *
David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is an English actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in a variety of genres in both film and television. He has received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and nomin ...
as Bradley *
Richard E. Grant Richard E. Grant (born Richard Grant Esterhuysen; 5 May 1957) is an Eswatini-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack H ...
as Major Cross *
Caleb Landry Jones Caleb Landry Jones (born December 7, 1989) is an American actor and musician, known for his roles as Banshee in '' X-Men: First Class'', Jeremy Armitage in ''Get Out'', and Red Welby in ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri''. His accolades ...
as Percy Hapgood *
Tamsin Egerton Tamsin Olivia Egerton-Dick (born 26 November 1988) is an English actress known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film '' St Trinian's'', Holly Goodfellow in the 2005 film '' Keeping Mum'' and Guinevere in the 2011 television series ''Ca ...
as Ophelia *
Sinéad Cusack Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ; born 18 February 1948) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Eve ...
as Grace Rohan *
David Hayman David Hayman (born 9 February 1948) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor and director from Glasgow. His acting credits include '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986), '' Hope and Glory'' (1987), '' Rob Roy'' (1995), '' The Jackal'' (1997), '' Tri ...
as Clive Rohan *
Brían F. O'Byrne Brían Francis O'Byrne (born 16 May 1967) is an Irish actor who works and lives in the United States. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his role in the miniseries '' Mildred Pierce'' (2011) and won a BAFTA TV Award for his role in ...
as RSM Digby *
Pat Shortt Patrick Shortt (born 12 December 1967) is an Irish actor, comedian, writer, and entertainer. His role in the 2007 film '' Garage'' led to him receiving the IFTA for Best Actor. He is most notably remembered for his role as Tom in the television ...
as Redmond *
John Standing Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934), known professionally as John Standing, is an English actor. Early life Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherine Standing), an actress, and Sir Ronal ...
as George *
Aimee-Ffion Edwards Aimee-Ffion Edwards (born 1986 or 1987) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her television roles as Sketch in '' Skins'', Esme Shelby in ''Peaky Blinders'', Sophie in '' Detectorists'', Abi in '' Loaded'', and Shirley Dander in '' Slow H ...
as Sophie Adams * David Michael Claydon as Jones


Themes

According to the director, though primarily a coming of age film, it also aimed to be a state of Britain film, capturing some of the great changes the country was undergoing. The
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
was disappearing and, like the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
which had sustained it, the nation had to find a new place in the world. The Army was radically different in having to cope with peacetime mass conscription of mostly unwilling and rebellious 18 year olds. An era passed with the death of
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...
, who had been the focus of loyalty during
World War II 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 ...
, and the coronation of his daughter. Some saw a new age of greatness for Britain, while others were pessimistic, and television was beginning its process of turning the nation into passive spectators.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
the film holds a 77% rating based on 91 reviews, with an average of 6.80/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Graceful and bittersweet, ''Queen and Country'' finds writer-director John Boorman revisiting past glories with warmth and wisdom." Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' stated in its review that "it remains a pleasure to spend time in the presence of these characters, and a third volume – perhaps focused on Bill’s entrance into the British film industry – would hardly be unwelcome."


Release

The film made its debut as part of the
Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...
section of the
2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition. French actor Lambert Wilson hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Turkish filmmaker Nuri ...
. It was scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom in May 2015.


References


External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen And Country 2010s British films 2010s English-language films 2010s historical drama films 2014 drama films 2014 films British historical drama films English-language historical drama films Films directed by John Boorman Films scored by Stephen McKeon Films set in 1953 Films set in England Semi-autobiographical films