Their Finest (2017)

Director Lone Sherfig first grabbed my attention with the remarkably charming film An Education. Like that film, Their Finest is far more entertaining that one would assume based on the premise. She has a way of telling a story which captures what is truly magical about her characters' experiences. This story of a woman's ventures into propaganda film making could have been rather paint by numbers but Sherfig finds something original about it and gets us wrapped up in her story.

It is one thing to make a war movie. People do that all this time and we've seen it all before. Their Finest does something else. It is a story about how war affects people, the way it ripples through a culture, a nation. It is about how people respond in such a time. It is about the different ways people contribute. Sherfig captures the fear and strength of being surrounded by war and choosing to do something about it.

Their Finest is also strong in portraying the ways women were (are) marginalized and the normalization of that marginalization. In overt and subtle ways the characters refer to the sexism they live in like a fish in water. It is pervasive and Sherfig's heroine faces it and stares it down. She doesn't defeat it naturally but she takes it on well enough.

I also enjoyed the way the film gives its lead a real love life. It isn't a typical romance but feels a lot more honest. It also doesn't end up the way you expect but that is all good too.  Sherfig has crafted something lovely here and she follows her own drummer. She and her drummer and worth following.

Their Finest
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Sam Clafin, Jack Huston, Bill Nighy, Richard E. Grant
Director: Lone Sherfig
Writer: Gaby Ciappe