Queen and Country (film)
Queen and Country | |
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Directed by | John Boorman |
Written by | John Boorman |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Seamus Deasy |
Edited by | Ron Davis |
Music by | Stephen McKeon |
Distributed by | BBC Worldwide |
Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | $41,297[1] |
Queen and Country is a 2014 British
Plot
On Pharaoh's Island, Bill is now 18 and receives his call-up papers for national service. 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, 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 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.
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
Percy finds military life a strain and with Redmond concocts an absurd scheme to steal the mess clock; a gift to the Regiment from
Cast
- Callum Turner as Bill Rohan
- Vanessa Kirby as Dawn Rohan
- David Thewlis as Bradley
- Richard E. Grant as Major Cross
- Caleb Landry Jones as Percy Hapgood
- Tamsin Egerton as Ophelia
- Sinéad Cusack as Grace Rohan
- David Hayman as Clive Rohan
- Brían F. O'Byrne as RSM Digby
- Pat Shortt as Redmond
- John Standing as George
- Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Sophie Adams
- David Michael Claydon as Jones
Themes
According to the director,
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes 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."[4] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[5] Variety 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."[6]
Release
The film made its debut as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It was scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom in May 2015.
References
- ^ Queen and Country on Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2014 lineup unveiled". Screendaily. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ Reader's Digest, retrieved 24 December 2016[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Queen and Country (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Tom, Brueggemann (22 February 2015). "Arthouse Audit: Oscar Hopeful 'Wild Tales' Opens to Strong Numbers". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ Variety review of Queen and Country
External links
- Queen and Country at IMDb
- Official website