Swallows and Amazons

Cert PG; Now Showing Arthur Ransome agreed with the criticism that the children he created in Swallows and Amazons were too nice. With that and changed times in mind, Andrea Gibbs has written liberties into her adaptation of Ransome’s book. Including one that makes the character he wrote to represent himself, Jim Turner/ Capt Flint, more like the author than he himself did. Ransome was a gentleman spy whose MI6 codename was S76. This is the codename of Turner/Flint (played by Rafe Spall) in the film which adds Russian spies (Andrew Scott and John Henshaw) and reduces the children’s super niceness.

In 1935 Mrs Walker (Kelly McDonald) takes her five children to the Lake District for their annual holiday with the Jacksons (Harry Enfield and Jessica Hynes in taciturn yokel mode.) Daddy Walker is off in his ship in the South China Sea so cannot hold good on his promise to take the kids on a boating expedition to an island in the middle of the lake. But following a cryptic telegram which basically says “ask your mother” the four eldest children are allowed to sail Mr Jackson’s beautiful boat, Swallow, and camp out on the island.

The novel children were good at everything as well as being super nice, but this lot are less competent and more moody. John (Dane Hughes) is a pain, but they’re still game for an adventure. Their island has already been claimed by the Blackett sisters on their boat, Amazon. However, that battle pales into insignificance when it emerges there is proper serious spy business to be attended to.

Philippa Lowthorpe’s feature debut is pretty, CGI-free and slightly tame, but sweet and nostalgic fun.