I was very much looking forward to this, as the adverts for it suggested that it could be an excellent little historical drama, the like of which the BBC regularly produce.
I could not have been more wrong.
I'm aware that such productions are always subject to budget constraints, but the CGI-effects were distinctly dodgy - I was very much aware that they were CGI. The clothing worn by the cast was another severe let down. It was often too pristine, in some cases ill-fitting, and occasionally utterly unauthentic for the 1940s. The greatest issue with the production however lay in the script and the acting. The acting was often wooden, and unbelievable. The script was clunky, and too 'modern' in language and attitudes held by the protagonists - the production I saw did not feel like it was portraying the 1940s. The script also suffered for concentrating on too many characters, which resulted in my not being emotionally engaged and actually caring whether they survived the sinking or not (this wasn't helped by very few of them being played as particularly pleasant people). Another particular problem was the number of simply unbelievable events that are shown throughout the film - the 'crossing the equator' scene in the U-Boat suggests a SERIOUS lack of discipline aboard, and the pep-talk by one of the U-Boat officers to the victim of the crew's bullying about being a team-player is very 21st century. The cringe-worthy performance of 'home on the range' or some such western song by the awkward British officer was very odd, and did not feel very 1940s at all - and I did find myself wondering where he got the costume from on a boat in the middle of a war? The portrayal of the Polish troops as nothing but violent thugs was a gross misrepresentation and offensive.
All in all, I was severely disappointed, feeling that the bravery and sacrifice shown on both sides during the real sinking of the SS Laconia was totally ignored for an over-dramatic, literally unbelievable piece of hokum that looked and felt like it was a poorly-written 21st century take on one of the saddest story's of the war.
I could not have been more wrong.
I'm aware that such productions are always subject to budget constraints, but the CGI-effects were distinctly dodgy - I was very much aware that they were CGI. The clothing worn by the cast was another severe let down. It was often too pristine, in some cases ill-fitting, and occasionally utterly unauthentic for the 1940s. The greatest issue with the production however lay in the script and the acting. The acting was often wooden, and unbelievable. The script was clunky, and too 'modern' in language and attitudes held by the protagonists - the production I saw did not feel like it was portraying the 1940s. The script also suffered for concentrating on too many characters, which resulted in my not being emotionally engaged and actually caring whether they survived the sinking or not (this wasn't helped by very few of them being played as particularly pleasant people). Another particular problem was the number of simply unbelievable events that are shown throughout the film - the 'crossing the equator' scene in the U-Boat suggests a SERIOUS lack of discipline aboard, and the pep-talk by one of the U-Boat officers to the victim of the crew's bullying about being a team-player is very 21st century. The cringe-worthy performance of 'home on the range' or some such western song by the awkward British officer was very odd, and did not feel very 1940s at all - and I did find myself wondering where he got the costume from on a boat in the middle of a war? The portrayal of the Polish troops as nothing but violent thugs was a gross misrepresentation and offensive.
All in all, I was severely disappointed, feeling that the bravery and sacrifice shown on both sides during the real sinking of the SS Laconia was totally ignored for an over-dramatic, literally unbelievable piece of hokum that looked and felt like it was a poorly-written 21st century take on one of the saddest story's of the war.