Simply A Masterpiece

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Private Peaceful is adapted from the book by Michael Morpurgo. It is a low budget film that features the final screen performance of Richard Griffiths who plays the pompous retired headmaster, the Colonel.Told in flashbacks, the story is about two Devonshire brothers Tommo (George McKay) and Charlie (Jack O'Connell) who before the war was close and getting into scrapes such as upsetting the Colonel and fall for the young girl in the village Molly (Alexandra Roach.) It is Charlie who marries her. Now Charlie is facing the firing squad for alleged cowardice.Until their father died in a tragic accident, the family had a relatively good life. Their father was a gamekeeper and forester employed by wealthy landowners.Both join up to fight the Great War even though Tommo was too young. Charlie tries to take care of Tommo and concerned about Molly who became pregnant before they set of for Flanders. Charlie also crosses swords with a sadistic sergeant who proves his undoing as Charlie disobeys orders and stays with injured Tommo in no man's land that leads him to be court martialled despite both men surviving gas attacks and deaths of their fellow soldiers while in the trenches.Both actors play their roles with sensitivity and despite the low key nature of the film there is an anti war message in its core. The film shows an England in the flux of change which the war accelerates albeit still too slowly for some.General Haig signs Charlie death warrant while paying billiards in his country estate. No thought to delve deeper as to what actually happened. It is left to history to judge Haig.

Private Peaceful follows 2 brothers from childhood to their participation in World War 1. It features themes of friendship, loyalty, courage and sibling rivalry. It features a good UK based cast featuring the late Richard Griffiths and the always excellent Jack O'Connell. For a film covering a period of time it has a relatively short running time and therefore has a lot to pack in. Therefore there are a number of characters that aren't fully fleshed out. For a small film I thought the war scenes were extremely well done and managed to convey the full horror of war for the often under prepared soldiers. It all ends rather abruptly and doesn't tie up loose ends which is a bit risky from the filmmaker. I think in this case however it is justified as it makes a greater impact. This is a only small film but is very engrossing and well worth seeking out. Very enjoyable and thought provoking.

This story involves the lives of two English brothers growing up in the early twentieth century. We witness their comradeship at school as older brother Charlie looks after younger Tommo. We observe the hardship endured by their mother after her husband dies in an accident. We see them meet Molly for the first time and have a beautifully painted scene where we know exactly what each brother is thinking. And the passage of time leads us to the Great War and how they end up as soldiers.Each link in the chain is perfectly manufactured, perfectly fitted together and brilliantly paced apart. Every thing is carefully drawn in charcoal before the colours are added and we know what the painting is really revealing.The acting is of top quality, the costumes a delight, and the times, cultures, and habits carefully put to good use. There is poetry on the screen in abundance but it is not stuff that is hard to work through. In the whole it is entirely entertaining and satisfying because there is no artifice in the script. You know what the characters are and there is little sentimentality present but sensitivity in abundance.If you had made this film you would be well proud of it. Had Hollywood made it with major stars it would be in the Oscar stakes. As it is it is a work of art, lovingly put together by a crew who must all be congratulated on their skill.Warmly recommended for early teens and above.

A beautiful portrayal of love and loyalty, this film gives a convincing insight into the lives at home and at war of young men in the First War. Key relationships are poignantly rendered, firstly between cocksure Charlie Peaceful and his sensitive and introspective brother Tommo. Their relationship with their father is particularly moving as well, as is their mutual love for their friend Molly. One thing that stands out for me is the authenticity of the film's portrayal of their acceptance of each other, of one sibling's 'conquest' of Molly, and of the relative poverty of their situation as fatherless farm-boys - although the outbursts of politicised rebellion in this respect are also convincing, if not when blurted out to the landowner who is bizarrely drinking in the public bar with the lads. This is indeed one of several anachronisms in the film (along with unrealistic woodcutting of the forester and the strangely silent field hospital), but these do not undermine what is otherwise a deeply moving portrayal of an everyday tragedy.