Private Peaceful (DVD REVIEW)
Private
Peaceful
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Headline: Bittersweet, WWI Love Story Brought to DVD
Tommo (George MacKay)
and Charlie Peaceful (Jack O’Connell) had a healthy sibling rivalry while
growing up in Devon at the dawn of the 20th
Century. The brothers were raised on a sprawling country estate owned by a family
of aristocratic Brits.
Their father (Stephen Kennedy) was
employed there as both gamekeeper and forester. In that capacity, he was able
to afford to send his sons to a private school run with an iron fist by a
sadistic headmaster (Richard Griffiths), a retired military colonel.
Everything changes when their dad dies
in a logging accident. Since their homemaker mother (Maxine Peake) can no
longer afford the rent or tuition, they soon lose the only life they’ve ever
known. More importantly, the pubescent adolescents have to leave behind Molly
(Alexandra Roach), a beautiful classmate both have a crush on.
Despite moving away, Tommo and Charlie
venture back as teens to frolic in the forest with the irresistible object of
their affection. A bit of a tease, Molly initially refuses to pick between her
ardent admirers, instead only promising to marry one “Mr. Peaceful” while
assuring that “We’ll be happy until the day we die.”
This is the premise underpinning Private
Peaceful, a bittersweet love story based on Michael Morpurgo’s young adult
novel of the same name. The book was previously adapted into a play which
debuted at the Royal Theater in 2004.
Directed by Pat O’Connor (Sweet
November), the screen version is an intriguing romance drama which takes a sharp
turn about midway through when Tommo and Charlie enlist in the army and ship
off to serve their country in Flanders’ fields. However, there remains concern
about Molly who’d announced her unplanned pregnancy shortly before the outbreak
of World War I.
Who’s the daddy? Will the Peacefuls
survive? These are the pivotal questions left to be addressed between bombs
bursting in air. Trench warfare as the backdrop for a tawdry love triangle
about as incestuous as it gets.
Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
Running
time: 102 minutes
Distributor:
BBC Warner
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see a trailer for Private Peaceful, visit:
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order Private Peaceful on DVD, visit:
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