Our Girl

Molly Dawes lives with her father, mother and multitude of siblings in a working class area of London. She's just turned 18 but instead of a feeling of euphoria all she sees is problems. Her boyfriend is unfaithful, she doesn't like her job and her father is a deadbeat. So she decides to join the Army.

A movie-length first episode of the series, so don't expect any nice neat resolutions or Hollywood endings. It's reasonably good without being great. We see Molly's background, which is a bit of a drag. This part seems quite predictable and seems to just delay the inevitable.

Once she's in the Army the film gets much more interesting as we see her having to make decisions regarding her future and having to adapt to Army life. There's a few overly neat and convenient plot developments but it's pretty good, good enough for me to stick with the series.

I'm a sucker for these films especially if they involve women. One of my favorite of all time if Private Benjamin with Goldie Hawn. Of course there are differences for example she is a wealthy American woman whose husband dies on the first night so the starting point is slightly different from that of a British girl from a London council estate but the story is the same they both are devalued by their families they both are expected to live vacuous life responding to the clichés that surrounds them and they find a purpose in the army. I think the scene I liked most is when she confronts her father outside the pub and the reading of the letter is really poignant. I quite liked also the TV news commentary at the end asking at what cost the war in Afghanistan has been sustained for 11 years, it was a nice touch few people might have noticed.

I must say that this Film 'Our Girl' is one of the most compelling things i have watched for a very long time. I felt it was so fantastic that i have watched it several times this week and i have expressed the same emotion (cry) every time i have watched it. Lucy Turner takes the title role of a London girl who has a very chaotic life who feels that she wants more from it than she and those around her have. She ends up in an Army recruitment office and the story of how she ends up there becomes clear as you watch the film. As the film progresses and i felt that it was compelling watching you see Molly Dawes (Lucy Turners character name) change her outlook on life and develop qualities and attributes which she had always had but she was not aware of them.Her friendship with Katie a fellow recruit who came from Leyland who had self confidence issues and how they helped each other achieve what they both wanted was an added bonus to this story. The very moving way that the corporal brought the best out of Molly was well done. This whole film is worth watching time and time again and each time i watch it i can see so many different things that the writers wanted to express and bring to our screens. The ending of this film is so well written and acted that my tears flowed even more. Well done BBC and Lucy and everyone who brought this to our viewing. I must say that after watching this I sent a text to each of my three daughters telling them how very proud of them i am and what they have each achieved in life which was not always easy for them either. This Film is a must watch. I know it was only a one off film but if the BBC were to do a series on Molly Dawes i feel it would be compelling viewing.

Within minutes this had me gripped. So well written and such emotion portrayed from Lacey Turner. Incredibly well put together and along with series one of Our Girl - a brilliant watch.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Mollie Dawes (Lacey Turner) is a typically (or so East Enders would have you believe) upfront, balsy South London girl, whose life is a bit of a shambles, what with an abusive father, cheating immigrant lover and false friends. One night, after throwing up at the entrance to an Army Recruitment Centre, she believes she's found the key that can turn her life around. Despite no encouragement from all those around her, she plods on with it, in time her cocky front broken down and built back up again to build her in to a better character.

There are those ex East Enders who simply fade in to obscurity and are lucky to be seen performing panto again, and those who seem determined to make their post Walford career in to something a bit more lively. Lacey Turner would seem to be one such example, appearing in this ambitious one off BBC drama, that feels pretty workmanlike and unsurprising for the most part, but still has the odd flashes of class to raise itself up.

It opens in a depressingly familiar environment from where a lot of these gritty kitchen sink dramas tend to start in, and feels so unsurprising because most of the characters behave in exactly the way you expect them to, not all that convincingly played by all the performers. As the main character, the vast bulk of it rests on Turner's shoulders, and she is the one we're kept with till the end, on the way incurring a rather shocking, gratuitous sex scene that comes out of nowhere, on to the end which ends on a more touching and poignant note than you might expect. It's an interesting and well written role, and had it had a bigger budget and maybe some better actors and director, it could have been even more than it is. But as it is, you still can't see Turner's, quite possibly one of 'the squaire's' better performers, post EE career going belly up if she keeps going with meaty stuff like this. ***