Ronde de nuit

Great cast and performances in this soapy flick. Those where really dark times for England. A lot of suffering everywhere. Claire Foy, charming as a fairy.

A beautifully crafted adaptation of the Sarah Waters novel of the same name. An interesting narrative structure taken from the book, the story is experienced backwards in three periods in the characters lives, running from the post war section back in time to wartime experiences of love in the Blitz. All of the performances are terrific, understated and subtle they convey the complex emotional landscape of their intertwining lives and a point in history when the social landscape was shifting with women finding themselves empowered by the demands and experiences of wartime Britain, releasing them from their more traditional roles and allowing them to rise to address new challenges and experiences, both actually and emotionally. The casting, acting and beautiful camera work make this a real treat, with a lovely sense of place.

I watched this quite literally minutes after finishing the book it's based on. With that in mind, I find that it is a very faithful adaptation of the book; only changing minor elements, mainly for the sake of cutting down scenes and giving more of a conclusive ending than the book. However, I'm not sure that this makes it a good movie.

I enjoyed it thoroughly, but a lot of that was because I knew what was going on in the heads of each character in every scene. I had the narrative of the book backing up the long silent scenes. I feel like without knowing the book, it is a movie with sparing dialogue, and a lot of inference. It's more like looking at a set of well-crafted paintings than a guided journey.

Still, as it is faithful to a rich source, it has excellent characters, which are the main structure of the story. I feel they did a good job with casting all-around, and in the end I felt like I got to experience rereading the book on fast-forward with new visuals.

This is a feature-length adaptation of Sarah Water's book of the same name.

I first came across Sarah Water's writing when I watch Tipping The Velvet on TV. I enjoyed the series so much that I then read the book, which was a great read. (I thoroughly recommend you read the book and watch the series - I don't think the order matters).

I guess the reason that I wasn't bowled over by this drama stems from the fact that I am not a fan of the book. I read it a few months ago, and whilst I enjoyed it, it was nowhere near as good as Tipping The Velvet. I think the problem being that whilst it has interesting characters, the story just wasn't strong enough and it just seemed to pootle along without much direction.

Saying that though, I would still recommend that you watch this drama as it is very atmospheric and the acting is on the whole good, especially the wonderful Anna Maxwell Martin, who is always very watchable, as is Clare Foy.

The Night Watch employs an unusual narrative structure (presumably duplicated from the novel by Sarah Waters) which begins in 1947, then flashes back not once but twice to show us how the large cast of characters came to arrive at the "end" of the story. This device isn't simply a flashy trick; it's integral to the movie's richly layered meditation on time and circumstance.

Human relationships are the heart of the story, as we see various friends and lovers couple and decouple against the background of London during the Blitz and the aftermath of WWII. The atmosphere is dark and sensual, the music is mesmerizing, and the performances are riveting.

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie at a film festival with no prior knowledge of it, and won't say anything more to spoil its wonderful surprises. I can only say, emphatically, that it should not be missed.