First Take: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- my word, that’s a long title

SYNOPSIS:

A writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island in the aftermath of World War II, when she decides to write a book about their experiences during the war.

This one’s been promoted a fair bit in cinemas lately, probably because it opened against Avengers, but mainly because it is a film that has been stuck in development for several years. After 10 long years, the novel from Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer is on the big screen, and unfortunately I was a little underwhelmed.

Mike Newell (of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame) is the man calling the shots on this film, and while it feels a little too long at a 2 hour 4 minute running time, the film feels very delicately paced, staying very much in line with the novel it is adapted from- but this is where my issues with the film begin, as the script from Kevin Hood, Thomas Bezucha and Don Roos is all over the place. Clunky dialogue, blatant exposition, and many more problems with the quality of the writing made it feel predictable at times, and that’s a shame considering the uniqueness of the novel. Cinematography comes from Zac Nicholson, who does a decent enough job for what the film needs, and with Alexandra Harwood’s score, the technical aspects are very much sufficient.

But arguably the real highlight of the film is the performance from Lily James- at just 29 years of age she is just killing it by fully developing every character she’s given, and once again, she excels at making the role of Juliet feel real and believable, and trust me, if she didn’t have this role, the film wouldn’t be of the same quality. Add to that some generally decent performances from Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton, and boom- this film is worth it purely for a fantastic cast. This ain’t a masterpiece, but it is a very solid adaptation of the 2008 novel.

THE VERDICT

With the amount of books referenced in the film, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is very much in line with its source material, but a weak script and a running time cause problems that are easily countered by Lily James’ work in the lead role.

RATING- 3.5/5