Carrie's War (2004)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Absolutely Fantastic

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The movie of the series of the book! All three are great.The movie runs about 90 minutes and has an awful lot of ground to cover... this is good and bad. The pace is brisk... but it needn't have been. The 5 part series, 30 years prior, was more laid back and did more justice to the book.That said, it's an excellent TV movie and much of that credit should be given to the young cast - especially Keeley Fawcett. She looks and sounds like a young Jenny Agutter (The Railway Children) and gives an extremely nuanced and mature performance. (She was an adult when she played the 12-year old-girl.) I wonder what happened to her. Did she even do anything else after that?There are some memorable moments along the way as two children, Carrie and Nick, are sent from London to Wales to avoid the bombing blitz of the second world war. One of those moments is when Carrie's mother sends her a dress and gushing with joy she tries it on, only to find that it's too small for her. Geraldine McEwan is a treat to watch and when she dances with young Carrie you would swear they are related. Alun Armstrong's Mr. Samuel Evans is perhaps the most complicated of the characters. he's bossy, religious, strict and uncompromising... but not mean or vindictive. He's the sort of man it's easy to despise till you walk a step or two in his shoes. His son is drifting away from him, his sister actually ends up running off with an American soldier to avoid him and he is lonely and confused about his standing with the other members of his family. There's actually a lot of comedy to be found in this telling as well as a couple of heartbreaking moments. They are all played out with dignity and the film is very rewarding to the viewer.

I saw this episode of Masterpiece Theatre and immediately came to IMDb to look it up. I was greeted by a comment from another user, who believed that it was nothing special, a 6 out of 10, and underwhelming. I would feel morally remiss if I didn't disagree.Now, I am an avid fan of Masterpiece Theatre, but oftentimes the stories can be a bit silly on television, for example, "He Knew He Was Right" was absolutely horrendous. "Carrie's War," however, is probably the best I've seen so far. The entire cast does an excellent job, and it held my interest more than any other piece I've seen recently. The character Mr. Evans is of particular interest, and through subtle images of, for example, an untouched birthday cake or a garnet ring, my opinion of him went from bad to truly good. Truly. His ultimate demise, and the story of how everyone around him left him a cold hard man, is what brought out the bittersweet in this story for me.The end is gratifying in every sense but one; that everyone did not get what they deserved, but overall things worked out. I absolutely recommend this to everyone.

I'm not sure what a Welsh children's drama (from a novel by Nina Bawden) is doing in a prime Sunday night TV slot but this proved to be watchable. Partly it was because in shows of this kind it is the children who are normal and the adults who are grotesque or just plain odd. What with the severe and slightly potty Mr Evans the grocer, his older sister Mrs Gotobed, Hepzibiah the homely housekeeper, Johnny the handicapped boy and Lou, Evans' younger sister, there's more than enough for an analyst.Carrie, the centre of this story about two children sent to the country to escape the blitz, is oddly likable. The great thing about her is she does not let the strangers and strangeness intimidate her; she tackles things on her own terms. She also gives her younger brother the support he needs almost automatically. It's a very fine performance from Keeley Fawcett.A good supporting cast is essential in this sort of tale, and we are treated to some fine performances. Alun Armstrong as Samuel Evans stays just this side of caricature and allows us to see that the fearsome bible-basher has a softer side. As Hepzibiah, Pauline Quirke is everybody's warm-hearted mum and Eddie Cooper as Alfred Sandwich is a wonderfully querilous adolescent. Jamie Beddard was pretty realistic as the disabled Mr Johnny – Beddard himself has cerebral palsy, though that has not stopped him from becoming a successful actor.I suppose this story is partly autobiographical; it does seem to give from the child's point of view the experience of evacuation. It also makes the point that for a child, the imaginary terrors are as real as the actual dangers; 20 years later it is the imaginary ghosts that haunt the adult.

A delightful story about two evacuees, has been turned into a nice little film, by the BBC. Most children who like a good story will enjoy this. The characters are played really well by a very good cast. Not sure whether our American friends will appreciate it, but they do get a mention, as Aunty Lou runs off with a gorgeous American soldier.