THE CHORAL Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Mark Adday, Roger Allam, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, Amara Okereke, Jacob Dudman, Oliver Briscombe, Shaun Thomas, Taylor Uttley, Emily Fairn, Simon Russell Beale.
The Choral is the fourth collaboration between playwright Alan Bennett (The Lady In The Van, etc) and director Nicholas Hytner (The History Boys, etc) in a thirty-year period. Notably it is the first script Bennett has written especially for the screen rather than adapting one of his own plays.
This well-meaning drama in set in Yorkshire in the fictional village of Ramsden in 1916 where the spectre of the war in Europe looms large. The local choral society always stages an oratorio, but with war raging in Europe they have lost many members to the war effort, including their longtime choirmaster. The organising committee, headed by chairman and local mill owner Alderman Bernard Duxbury (Roger Allam), reluctantly hires Dr Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes). For several years Guthrie has lived in Germany, and he openly expresses an appreciation for German culture, a view that doesn’t exactly go down well in this provincial English community. Guthrie is also gay and an atheist. He is grieving the loss of his lover who was aboard a battleship that was sunk during a naval battle.
Guthrie and the committee have to decide on what oratorio they will stage this year for their annual concert, but they reject most of Guthrie’s suggestions (the familiar Bach, Handel and Beethoven compositions) because they are from German composers. Eventually they decide on a scaled down production of Elgar’s 1900 oratorio The Dream Of Gerontius, which was based on the poem written by John Henry Newman, and which, with its theme of death, recounts the journey of a dying and pious man’s soul to judgement before God. It seems a perfect fit for these dark times.
Further complicating the preparations for the performance is the announcement by the pianist Robert (Robert Emms, from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, etc) that he intends to register as a conscientious objector, a decision that has further ramifications. Guthrie also has to find new voices amongst the townsfolk to fill out the choir. Amongst those who audition are local 17-year-olds including telegram delivery boy Lofty (Oliver Briscombe in his feature film debut), who sometimes delivers the worst news from the front to families; his best friend Ellis (Taylor Uttley in his feature film debut); Mitch (Shaun Thomas, from The Brothers Grimsby, etc); and Mary (Amara Okereke, from In The Lost Lands, etc), a Salvation Army officer blessed with a superb singing voice. Guthrie gives the lead role to Clyde (Jacob Dudman, from the tv series Medici, etc), a recently returned soldier who had his right arm amputated.
Fiennes brings his usual gravitas, dignity, quiet restraint and class to his role as the sharp-tongued perfectionist Guthrie. Simon Russell Beale brings a touch of bluster to his brief appearance as the pompous Elgar.
The Choral is almost an old-fashioned film, and Hytner’s direction is deliberately paced and avoids overt sentimentality. However, Bennett also manages to incorporate a potent anti-war message into the wonderfully nuanced script. The film also explores the power of music to bring a community together in times of hardship. Technically the film looks good and its period detail, costumes and production design are all superb.
★★★
