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Best movie ever!

Absolutely Fantastic

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

GLORIOUS 39 is an attempt to make a film in the same vein as GOSFORD PARK and REMAINS OF THE DAY, adding in a tacked-on mystery thriller plot as per the 1930s political situation. From the first scene you know this has an exemplary cast, with the likes of Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Northam, and Charlie Cox all appearing in solid roles. Romola Garai has always been a good fit for period drama - like the excellent BBC TV series THE HOUR - and she's fine here, apart from at the climax in which she's asked to go way over the top and becomes embarrassing as a result. A shame, then, that the writing is so sloppy, offering up one dull character after another and nobody to like. The plot twists and turns are routine, and the old-timers like Bill Nighy and Julie Christie show up and do nothing. The less said about David Tennant the better, but at least he doesn't get much screen time. Christopher Lee is a welcome presence, but he gets even less.

An excellent cast delivers a suitably idiosyncratic story of British upper crust treachery leading up to the Second World War. There is genuine intrigue running through this somewhat stagey but highly enjoyable piece, and director Stephen Poliakov ably demonstrates that slow burn is so much more effective than breakneck plotting when it comes to delivering threat.At the heart of the story Romola Garai gives a highly affecting and increasingly fractured performance as the drama unfolds, and Bill Nighy is wonderfully patronising as Sir Alexander. The superb British cast spans a generation or two of home-grown acting talent from the evergreen Christopher Lee to young Toby Regbo (at the time soon to appear as Jim Hawkins), and taking in Julie Christie; Jenny Agutter; Hugh Bonneville; Jeremy Northam; Eddie Redmayne; and Juno Temple.If your attention span is longer than 10 minutes, you're not averse to the occasional costume drama, and you don't need to see things exploding every ten seconds there's a fair chance you will enjoy this.

'Glorious 39' entertains you well throughout. Not in the least by its mood, reflecting a last peace-summer in the English countryside before the catastrophe of World War II broke loose.By mentioning this we have dealt with the strongest parts of this film. Unfortunately its story does not convince completely, not in the least by its somewhat cheap setting in a flash-back. And 'Glorious 39's acting is only adequate -- in spite of being polished up with a few past glory-names like Christopher Lee and Julie Christie. And young Juno Temple's repressed spontaneity makes her acting wooden -- thus delivering the weakest performance of all the main stars. Another missed chance is Glorious 39's shooting. This really is a pity, for the beautiful English countryside could have come out much better than shown here.I purchased my DVD for around five English pounds. A reasonable price for a modest film like this.

I first came across the captivating young British actress Romola Garai in the 2004 movie "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights". Since then, most of her work has been for television, but she was back on the large screen in the 2009 film "Glorious 39". The '39' refers to 1939 when Britain was on the edge of war with Germany. 'Glorious' relates to both the nature of that year's summer and the affectionate name for Garai's character Anne, the adopted daughter of the aristocratic Keyes family which is headed by an influential Conservative Member of Parliament who is appalled by the notion of the country going to war for the second time in only a couple of decades.Written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff as a kind of Hitchcockian thriller, this is a work replete with well-known British character actors spanning the age range from Christopher Lee & Julie Christie through Bill Nighy & Jeremy Northam to David Tennant & Eddie Redmayne. With so much talent available, one has a right to expect more than is actually delivered. The plotting is rather silly and often slow and the characterisation somewhat stilted, while the ending is most unsatisfactory. The locations - mostly in Norfolk - are fine though.