
Military Wives is in Berlin cinemas now. Photo: Leonine Distribution
It’s not all terrible, but this is the kind of British fluff you’d only watch wrapped in a warm blanket.
In times of a pandemic, maybe seeing Kristin Scott Thomas belt out Yaz’s “Only You” in a bland riff on Brassed Off is enough. Maybe.
Military Wives is the latest crowd-pleasing comedy from Peter Cattaneo, the director of The Full Monty, which sees Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan star in the fictionalised take on the true story of wives and partners of British soldiers serving in Afghanistan who found strength and community in founding a women’s choir. The choral group became a media sensation in 2011 following the BBC documentary series The Choir: Military Wives. Both Scott Thomas and Horgan are excellent in their chalk-and-cheese roles, and carry a formulaic feel-good story which hits all the notes you’d expect, including a tiresome reliance on the musical numbers to do all the emotional heavy lifting and a third act that would make Richard Curtis’ nipples tingle.
It’s not all terrible, but it’s the kind of unashamedly rote Brit fluff you’d only watch wrapped in a warm blanket, providing you can look past the implicit military glorification and the clichéd depiction of the gossamer-thin female characters who pine while the brave boys are saving the day.
Maybe just watch Brassed Off instead.
Military Wives / Directed by Peter Cattaneo (UK 2019), with Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan. Starts October 15.