Overview
Inspired by global phenomenon of military wives choirs, the story celebrates a band of misfit women who form a choir on a military base. As unexpected bonds of friendship flourish, music and laughter transform their lives, helping each other to overcome their fears for loved ones in combat.
File this in the “well, I never expected to like this” category – on paper it sounded trite and bland. What it ended up doing was hit me right in the feels on multiple occasions, and there was clearly some dust around that got in my eye or something….
Maybe it was the fact that I’d put myself through a really bad film the day prior, but this story of a group of women whose partners are sent off to serve in Afghanistan who search for a group activity to keep them going and settle on singing as a choir – despite the very limited musical ability many of them have – really worked for me. Yes, it is applying the same formula used in a multitude of films over the decades, but it has a charm, wit, and also heart to it that still delivers.
It helps that the cast of characters all engage well. Kristin Scott Thomas as Kate, the ‘all so proper’ wife of an officer, who has never really come to terms with the loss of her son who also served, plays against Sharon Horgan’s Lisa – their approaches to music coaching being very different – Kate is all “one two three – break down the components” whilst Lisa is “you know that beautiful south song? Let’s do it!” The interplay between the two is packed with bite, and the occasional line-crossing moments of harsh truth, but is never less than dynamic and engaging. Jason Fleming is on board as the base commander Crooks, and whilst he doesn’t get a lot to do, when he does it reminds you of how great a support actor he really is. The rest of the cast forming the choir includes Emma Lowndes, Gaby French, Lara Rossi, and notably Amy James Kelly who plays a scene of heartbreak hard enough to make some more dust land in my eye. All the cast have a charm and engaging nature to them, and no moment on screen feels wasted.
As I said the film has a charming wit, and there were genuine belly laugh moments, but they contrast well with the tensions and concerns that these wives have whilst their loved ones are off in a war zone – and this is what the film does so well. The singing isn’t the real story – it is the absence of their partners and the worries that lie under them all that is really bringing these women together. So whilst the general film is formulaic and doesn’t step too far away from things you’ve seen before, the cast never let you forget that there is more on their character’s mind than just hitting the right note.