The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Based on the bestselling epistolary novel of the same unwieldy name, Lily James proves that whether it’s portraying a young Meryl Streep in this year’s Mamma Mia! sequel or engaging in a post-war romance with a pig farmer from Guernsey, there’s no role she can’t handle charmingly. In Mike Newell’s historical drama, she plays a London-based writer who receives an intriguing letter from the island of Guernsey, which was occupied by the Nazis during the war. She chooses to travel there in order to avoid a promotional tour for her latest book and to write a profile of the titular society. It’s a by-the-numbers affair in which the strong ensemble cast outshines the plodding pace and the overzealous reliance on flashbacks. Still, if you’re looking for an undemanding watch, or if you enjoy bland love-triangle scenarios which pit the urban against the rural, this just might be the ticket.
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society | Directed by Mike Newell (UK, 2018), with Lily James, Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay. Starts August 09.
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