There very easily could’ve been an air of farce and faux suspense about The Great Escaper. A true story centring on Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine) – a near-90-year-old who staged a “great escape” from his retirement home in 2014 in order to join his fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy to commemorate their fallen comrades – the film’s layer of sentimentality threatens to give way to a certain schmaltz, but director Oliver Parker (An Ideal Husband, Johnny English Reborn) and screenwriter William Ivory (Made in Dagenham) refuse to let the film succumb to overt mawkishness.
Defying the very word that he’s unable to participate in the excursion of commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day celebrations in France, Bernie, on the advice of his loving wife Rene (Glenda Jackson in her final on-screen role; the actress sadly departing in June 2023), hops a taxi, a bus and a ferry to make the trek. Rene does her best to cover for him back at their housing care facility, but as his “disappearance” becomes national news, there’s only so much she can do before admitting to her role in his so-called “escape”.
Because the very idea of an octogenarian-on-the-run conjures a certain risible temperament, it’s smart on both Parker and Ivory’s ends to let the film set its own pace and succeed off the back of Caine and Jackson’s beautifully nuanced performances; although they are separated for large periods of the film, there’s a magnetic magnitude to their chemistry. But as much as The Great Escaper succeeds off their love story – and we have wonderful turns from Will Fletcher and Laura Marcus as the couple in their younger years to further drive home Bernie and Rene’s bond – it’s the relationships they form outside of their own that help enhance the emotionality of the story; for Bernie it’s with fellow vet Arthur (John Standing), who he bonds with on his trip, and for Rene it’s her interactions with the care staff, namely Adele (Danielle Vitalis), a young nurse.
Because the film aims for a more steady pace and scale, some may comment on The Great Escaper being an unexciting film. It purposely avoids any unnecessary bells and whistles to project itself forward. It’s an honest film that respects that someone’s age shouldn’t negate their passion, determination or ability. To see this generation for who they truly are is ultimately the film’s greatest strength. The Great Escaper is continually likeable and engaging, but it’s the fact that it celebrates their achievements and refuses to pander to such because of their age that makes for the greatest journey of all.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Great Escaper is screening in Australian theatres from March 7th, 2024.
