The Trench

My father fought in WW1. Yes, you read that right, my father and not my grandfather. He was at Ypres, Passchendaele and the second battle of the Somme. His older brother died in front of him on the battlefield. He didn't speak much about it, I guess he didn't want to re-live it. Subsequently, WW1 looms large in my life and I am always drawn to movies like this. Make no mistake, this is no 1917...but then again, it never could have been. What it is, though, is an affecting portrayal of what it must have actually been like featuring an excellent cast and some fine character development. You care about the men, knowing as you do that it doesn't end well. The sense of impending doom is overwhelming.

As I've stated, I have watched plenty of movies that basically cover the same ground and this is definitely one of the better efforts. Special praise must go to Daniel Craig as the war-weary scouse sargeant, Julian Rhind-Tutt as the anxious toff officer and most surprisingly Paul Nicholls (yes, him from Eastenders) as the wet-behind-the-ears private who, as the movies true 'everyman' character, we're all rooting for to survive. It seems somehow inappropriate to call such a harrowing story enjoyable, but it is enjoyable all the same. Recommended to anybody with an interest in the subject matter.