Journey’s End,
“Journey’s End’’ is a small-scale, well-acted film based on a 1928 stage play, focusing on the horror of life in the trenches in of the First World War. Although it effectively conveys the claustrophobia and terror experienced by its soldier characters — English playwright R.C. Sheriff knew the war firsthand — the film never quite overcomes a slightly stodgy quality.
The setting is northern France in 1918, where British troops are dug in, awaiting a German offensive they believe will begin in a few days. The latest addition to the trenches is young Second Lieutenant Raleigh (Asa Butterfield), a naif who has requested to join the forces under the command of Captain Stanhope (Sam Claflin), whom Raleigh had greatly admired during their school days.
The trauma of life on the front lines has transformed Stanhope into a rage-prone alcoholic. Another recent arrival is Lieutenant Osborne (Paul Bettany), who has, so far, been able to retain a reasonably positive outlook, providing much-needed reassurance to the men below him.
The play, which has been filmed several times previously, emphasizes how British class distinctions add to the soldiers’ burdens. At one point, they are under orders to complete a mission by 7 p.m., which Stanhope bitterly points out is the dinner hour for the faraway commanding officers.
But the main focus of this talky drama, in this adaptation by Simon Reade, is the paralyzing sense of doom that reigns over the front lines, the sense that many, perhaps most, of these men will soon die. That the action takes place toward the end of the war (we know that, even if the soldiers don’t) only emphasizes the wastefulness of the coming carnage.
Director Saul Dibb effectively captures the hellish conditions — the mud, the smoke, the darkness, the corpses — suffered by the men as they wait and wait for the onslaught. He has opened up the play, which had a single setting in the trenches — to include some nicely done battle footage. And he knows how to get excellent work from his first-rate cast, particularly Bettany, and smoothly integrates a bit of comic relief from Toby Jones as the company’s cook.
It’s clear that the release of this movie was tied to the centennial of the end of the “war to end all wars,’’ and there’s no denying the continued relevance of its message. Still, there’s a heavy-handed and dated feeling about this version of “Journey’s End’’ — it never really breaks loose from its theatrical origin.