Bernard Jordan escapes from his care home to attend the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France.
Based on the true story of a war veteran who headed off across the English channel himself to join the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France, ‘The Great Escaper’ is a lovely little film with Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson (who passed shortly after filming) both superb. 89-year-old Bernard Jordan made headlines in 2014 when he ‘broke out’ of his nursing home to join the commemorations, and that story forms the basis for this movie which centres on the loving relationship between Bernard (Caine) and his wife Rene (Jackson).
We’re introduced to Bernard at the nursing home where he stays with Rene; he is more mobile and capable of wandering around the local town, but Rene is less able and spends most of her time in her room. He finds out he’s been unsuccessful in an application to attend the commemorations as a veteran, but that doesn’t deter him, and encouraged by Rene, he sets off to make the journey himself. Along the way he encounters and bonds with a fellow veteran (John Standing), meets some German veterans who were also on the beaches during D-Day, and ultimately reflects on his role in the D-Day landings and how that affected the rest of his life, not least his relationship with Rene. I wasn’t quite prepared (as I should have been, given how brilliant Caine and Jackson have always been) for how wonderful and loving this portrayal of a married couple was going to be, and I found myself as emotionally moved by their story as I was by the reminisces of war.
‘The Great Escaper’ could have been a simple nostalgic cash in mining our inbuilt gratitude to those who fought for the country in World War II, but to its credit this is a more expansive film than that and with two icons of British cinema in the central roles, it leads to a really sweet and moving movie.
Rating: 3/5
Directed By: Oliver Parker
Starring: Michael Caine, Glenda Jackson and John Standing
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