Buried beneath the uneven surface of British war drama choir This Lie is a touching gay love story that the filmmakers seem reluctant to tell.
Rather, director Nicholas Hytner and screenwriter Alan Bennett weave subtle hints and revelations about devoted choirmaster Dr. Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) through the film’s busy patchwork of subplots. But despite Fiennes’ tender and heart-wrenching portrayal, the sad story of Guthrie’s separation from those close to him during World War I remains largely untold.
Longtime collaborators Hytner and Bennett (two plays) king george madness (which Hytner adapted into an Oscar-winning film) is a laudably ambitious endeavor that cultivates The Master of the Choir and a dozen other stories within the film’s “Let’s Put on a Show” ensemble tapestry.
Set in 1916 in a quaint English factory town that has already lost sons and husbands to World War I, the film follows a local choir’s efforts to perform classical oratorio while preserving tradition. Unfortunately, due to the war, the choir is short on male members, and when the current choirmaster, Gilbert (Thomas Howes), accepts a patriotic call to arms, his life is taken away.
So the town’s leaders, led by Alderman Duxbury (Roger Allam), scout Dr. Guthrie, a respected musician, but his reputation exceeds his own in the music world and beyond. “Isn’t it Guthrie…?” he asks the town’s pastor, Woodhead (Ron Cooke), adding that he hopes to find “a family man” for the job.
However, they have no choice but to face Guthrie and his trusted pianist Horner (Robert Ems). Like Guthrie, Horner, who is confirmed to be single, carries his own struggles inside, as do all the members of the ensemble, from Alderman Duxley, who defends his solo in the oratorio and hopes to find some joy after a tragic loss, to Salvation Army nurse Mary (Amara Okeweke), who simply tries to do her part in a difficult time.
Mary is also drawn into a light romance with one of the boys in the choir, but the film doesn’t pursue such flirtations or any of the young romances with any convincing enthusiasm. They are simply the gist of a factory of dangling subplots and tangents in an overextended and underwritten depiction of a wartime town.
Shot in the English mill village of Saltaire and shot on location in West Yorkshire, the film captures a heartbreaking small-town charm, including montages of choir members practicing their parts while going about their daily jobs. But the film’s look is distinctly artificial, with flat, overlit compositions where everything on screen, from the costumes to the cars, looks fresh, clean, and barely used.
The blood and dust and despair of battle feels very far removed from this image of squeaky clean people rehearsing for a big show. What’s missing from the build-up to the climax is a traditional pep scene in which Fiennes’s choirmaster rallies his troops to overcome their fears and capture the theoretical battlefield with a roar of glory.
In fact, despite all efforts to become part of the choral society and overcome obstacles to perform the show, no one involved has clearly defined the purpose of this performance. When we finally get there, the oratorio is well staged and sung, especially by Maria, but it’s not particularly cathartic. Similar to Guthrie’s love story, we are offered notes and phrases to narrate, but no context to fully appreciate the music.
The Coral (★★☆☆☆) You can rent or own it digitally on the SonyPicsAtHome YouTube channel, Prime Video, Apple TV, and other platforms, and it will be available for purchase on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 17th. visit youtube.com/@sonypicsathome.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
