Last call for Michael Caine & Glenda Jackson (and with them, a British film generation), who go out not with a bang, but with an anecdote, fact-based/well chosen. It’s 70 years after D-Day and Normandy Landing vet Caine, now living comfortably with frail wife Jackson in an assisted care facility, realizes he’s too late to join a group for the commemoration in France. But it’s never too late to pack a few essentials and take off by foot. Then bus, cab, train & ship. Near 90, Caine shuffles along with his trusty cane, catching breaks thru the kindness of strangers without sprinkling too much fairy dust in helpful advice on the way; though it’s a near thing. Journeyman director Oliver Parker is roped in by William Ivory’s workaday script. All the WWII flashbacks usurping precious acting opportunities from our leads. But the film has its touching moments and doesn’t plead for tears; nor needs to. Caine & Jackson left with dignity intact. Jackson in particular, fierce as ever when need be. (Unlike the sweet-natured gal who plays her in the flashbacks.) Sadly, Jackson died shortly before the film came out, while Caine, who announced his retirement upon completion, saw the film fail to get Stateside distribution. Boo! (PBS picked it up.) That’s showbiz.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: These self-acknowledged screen farewells rarely go even this well. But there’s built in affection toward films like GHOST STORY/’81 and THE WHALES OF AUGUST/’87. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/04/ghost-story-1981.html
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