Rent Their Finest (2016)

Bitter Sweet - Their Finest review by GS

An engaging if far-fetched offering made wonderfully watchable by the very talented Bill Nighy acting his heart out and doing that funny thing with his hands again, it's almost a trade mark with him.

Well scripted with good timing and excellent acting I found the film engaging in a bitter sweet way and there were moments that were genuinely moving and had me saying, "You can't do that!" I particularly enjoyed the romance element and the way it developed, helped along by Gemma Arterton looking her dewey-eyed best and some very fine camera work.

Not to everybody's taste, no doubt, but for me an interesting and for the most part gentle piece of thought provoking cinema.

Charming if slight - Their Finest review by JH

Wartime-set drama (during the Blitz), that's part cap-tip to working women, part acclamation to the power of cinema.

Arterton as the lead, Catrin, is hired early on as the sole woman on a small script writing team for the Ministry of Information, looking to the inspire the many at home and Americans abroad into joining the war in one swoop.

Arterton is solid enough in her portrayal, and the script nuanced enough to push the stories & plight of women in general with tact -- no grandstanding here -- and she's an entertaining, bright foil to Sam Claflin's lead-writer Buckley.

The romantic sub-plots here are a little to predictable, as is the denouement, thought Catrin is interesting enough for these to be passed off as forgivable.

The film clearly takes some delight in it's portrayal of old-timey film-making, and the actors working on them (Bill Nighy a deft-hand here as usual).

Entertaining, charming stuff here with a nice trim running time and engaging performances. Nothing especially stellar.

Needs at least 3 viewings to get the Full Impact - Their Finest review by KW

Interesting film that has too much going on at times and you need to view it at least twice or maybe three times to get the full impact of it.

Disappointing - Their Finest review by CR

In spite of perfectly good performances, this film was slow and failed to engage me. I was looking forward to watching it but it did not live up to my expectations. Shame!

Watchable but undemanding drama - Their Finest review by Alphaville

Good-natured old-fashioned British drama about making a Second World War propaganda film to boost morale after Dunkirk. One character complains that to American audiences ‘understatement translates as a lack of oomph’. Their Finest is an example of a film that could do with more oomph. The only plot point you won’t expect is the ending, and that’s a complete tonal mistake anyway.

Another character says that a film should be ‘worth an hour and a half of someone’s life’. This is little more than undemanding Sunday night television fare with a score that’s awash with lush orchestral music and plinky-plink piano. Nevertheless it bowls along pleasantly enough if you’re in the mood, with a romantic subplot, engaging dialogue and an uproarious turn from Bill Nighy as a cantankerous actor.

Great nostalgic watch - Their Finest review by IG

This is in the style of a yarn really - similar in style to Michael Palin's ripping Yarns.

The style is warm and affectionate if a bit far fetched.

It's about a Propaganda unit in World War 2 and kind of Dunkirk from woman's perspective.

Disappointingly unreal - Their Finest review by BE

Found it difficult to engage with this one. It looked as though it was being acted instead of coming across as real, which a good film should. Also the clothing looked unnatural. . The lack of creases indicated man made material was used instead of natural fibre, which was more prevalent in those days. This belied any authenticity with the clothing of the war years. Bill Nighy is always an enjoyable watch but apart from that, disappointing.