- The Great Escaper
- Directed by Oliver Parker
- Written by William Ivory
- Starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson
- Classification PG; 96 minutes
- Opens in select theatres May 31
The new tear-jerking drama The Great Escaper represents two intriguing instances of finality.
Nine months after the film wrapped production, in June, 2023, its legendary star Glenda Jackson died at the age of 87, making this her final on-screen performance. And a few months after that, Jackson’s co-star Michael Caine announced that the film would be his last, telling BBC Radio, “I keep saying I’m going to retire. Well, I am now. I’ve figured, I’ve had a picture where I’ve played the lead and had incredible reviews. What am I going to do that will beat this?”
Fair enough, Sir Michael. Because unless Christopher Nolan drags his favourite actor out for one more go-round, then The Great Escaper serves as a fine, or fine enough, swan song. While not remotely the best project of either Caine or Jackson’s career – it wouldn’t crack the Top 10 – the film is a slight but sweet ode to a particular flavour of Britannia that will leave its target audience in sentimental shambles.
Loosely based on the real-life story of Bernie Jordan, an elderly Second World War Royal Navy veteran who “escaped” from his nursing home to attend the 70th anniversary commemorations of D-Day in France, director Oliver Parker’s drama knows the exact beats it has to hit. Playing Jordan with a twinkle in his eye and a spring in his step, Caine knocks the role out with deceptive ease, delivering the kind of headstrong, gallant British gent of Her Majesty’s fantasies. And Jackson, playing Bernie’s wife Irene – who is mostly tickled pink that such a fuss is being made of her husband’s 48-hour excursion – matches her co-star’s natural charms.
Yet Parker’s directorial energies dip every time the film slides in a flashback to Bernie’s D-Day experiences – there’s a bland romanticism of war here that feels at odds with the present-day drama – and the actors he has hired to play younger versions of the central couple (Will Fletcher as Bernie and Laura Marcus as Irene) cannot possibly measure up. Yet the film wisely chooses speed over slog at every narrative opportunity, wrapping up both of its script’s timelines with admirable momentum.
And by the time that the finale arrives – its sunset-splashed sequence serving as a warm, if unintentional, farewell to its two iconic stars – you would have to have a heart as hard as the Rock of Gibraltar to not shed a tear or two.