Let's Talk About the Love of My Life

Namely, Siegfried Sassoon - war poet, satirical genius, slightly deceased and quite, quite gay. It's unlikely he'll share my feelings, but I can dream.

Sassoon is beautifully portrayed by James Wilby in Behind The Lines, based on the Regeneration books. 

The first shot pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the film: a shot of muddy, downtrodden Now Man's Land with bodies scattered across it. The fact that it's almost impossible to tell what it debris and what is human flesh is, to my knowledge, a pretty accurate representation of the front line. 

In addition to the biographical characters - Sassoon, Robert Graves, and Wilfred Owen, all soldier-poets - the film follows two fictional characters: Craiglockhart Doctor, William Rivers, and Second Lieutenant Billy Prior. Feel free to disagree, but I think these characters were probably included to show a new perspective on the soldiers: any English GCSE student has a basic knowledge Wilfred Owen,  but what about the rest of the soldiers; the anonymous ones? Prior represents every soldier who had ever doubted his own sanity on the front line. 

But anyway, enough about history. Film review. 

Mainly centered about Craiglockhart - a beautiful set, though not actually filmed at Craiglockhart Hospital in Scotland - it differs from a lot of War films as it does not choose to focus on gore and destruction; more the sanity of the soldiers. So if you're not a huge horror fan, I can recommend this film to you easily. 

Biographical films can be filled with too many irrelevant details, but Behind the Lines  balances fiction and non-fiction pretty well. 

I am aware, as a soldier-poet fan, my reviewing are hugely biased. I am also aware that historicals do not appeal to everyone. I do think, however, that because this film creates a story around the historical facts, it will appeal to a wider audience.