tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

Even in Francois Ozon's disappointing first English language film Angel, I'm still enraptured by the magnificence of Romola Garai. If ever there is an actress who can do no wrong, even if the movie is an utter failure, Garai would be that actress. In Steven Poliakoff's Glorious 39, Garai continues to shine.

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Funded by BBC Films, the UK Film Council, Screen East and Quickfire Films, 1939 is set in the Norfolk countryside on the eve of the war and in modern-day London. The story centres on Anne Keyes, the daughter of a traditional English family, played by Atonement star Garai.

Poliakoff said he was excited to be making a film about "the extraordinary machinations that went on in British society on the eve of war".

"It is truly thrilling to be making it with such a tremendous cast which combines some of the most exciting young talent in the country including Romola Garai, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, Charlie Cox and David Tennant with such great names of the British film industry as Bill Nighy, Julie Christie and Christopher Lee," he added.

Over the past 10 years Poliakoff has focused on TV drama, including Capturing Mary, Joe's Palace, The Lost Prince and Gideon's Daughter, which were all made by Talkback Thames. [ read more: The Guardian's feature on Steven Poliakoff ]

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Featured Review: DarkHorizon's Paul Fischer was apparently impressed:

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More About Glorious 39: 1939 is set between present-day London and the idyllic Norfolk countryside in the lead up to the Second World War.

At a time of uncertainty and high tension, the story is centred around the formidable Keyes family, who are keen to uphold and preserve their very traditional, English way of life. The eldest sibling Anne (Romola Garai) is a budding young actress who is head-over-heels in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence (Charlie Cox). Anne's seemingly perfect life begins to dramatically unravel when she stumbles across secret recordings of the anti-appeasement movement.

Whilst trying to uncover the origin of these recordings, a tangled web of dark secrets begins to unfurl, culminating in the mysterious death of a dear friend.

As war breaks out Anne discovers the truth and escapes to London to try to confirm her suspicions, but she is caught and imprisoned and only then does she finally begin to discover the true extent to which she has been betrayed.

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What's on your mind? Have you heard about this new movie? Are you a fan of Romola Garai? Let us know what you think!

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