(***1/2) 

When they sang in harmony they thought it would be forever. World War I thought otherwise. 

Audiences who love music, have been in a choir or want to know what it’s like to be left behind when war rages will have a special affinity for this period drama. Others too, as they get to know the characters, join in their friendships, romances, jealousies and other social aspects/group dynamics choirs experience. The bonds of music pull them together. Human desires and frailties add certain peculiarities. 

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George), who wrote the script at the tender age of 89, displays a nice affinity for lovelorn people in this ode to those whose lives are derailed by war. He and his touching 1916-set storyline give director Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George) the tools he needs to make a viable historical war/drama/romance set in a rural Yorkshire, England. That’s where locals have made the town choir the heart of their village. A musical group that’s being torn apart as its young men’s destinies are leading to the front lines.  

When the resident choirmaster leaves to join the fight, the board, headed by Alderman Duxbury (Roger Allam), the resident but aging tenor, hunts for a new one. Against their better judgement, they settle on the controversial conductor Dr. Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes, Conclave). Controversial? There’s gossip. “He’s been working in Germany!” “Treachery!” “He’s an Atheist!” Hey, he’s also difficult and has never been married—who would have him?  

Though the group and their new musical director were set to present Bach’s St. Mathew Passion, they decide to eschew the German composer’s work. Afterall, they’re fighting Deutschland, so why exalt them. Guthrie talks them into performing Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. He’s British, it’s safer—though a difficult piece. That’s the plan. Though plans are what god laughs at. 

The push and pull between the board and Guthrie almost never stop. One of the biggest bones of contention is that the elderly Duxbury wants to do the tenor solo. His will and his voice aren’t matching up. In a script that judiciously delves into the gossipy lives of choir members, watching them cavort is almost as much fun as watching them create their musical event. 

One teenage stud, Mitch (Shaun Thomas), pursues a Salvation army singer (Amara Okereke). Another one, Ellis (Taylor Uttley), flirts with a young woman, Bella (Emily Fairn), whose boyfriend Clyde (Jacob Dudman) went off to war and hasn’t been heard of since. The task of another young man, Lofty, (Oliver Briscombe), is to deliver death-notice telegrams from the king to war wives who become widows. The three boys are too young to join the fight and are just now starting to feel their manhood. 

In the forefront is that “let’s put on a show” energy that sustains folks in the worst of times. Like that in The Greatest Showman. All involved are well directed by Hytner, who manages to mix the drama, comedy, romance and fear of failure into a nice cup of hot English tea.. The period is set well by its smalltown feel. Like no one can sneeze without others crosstown hearing about it. Credit the production design (Peter Francis) for the homey cottages, the costume designer (Jenny Beavan) for the clothes that fit the characters. When the choir isn’t singing in all its glory, the musical score (George Fenton) fills in nicely. 

All eyes are justly so on Fiennes, and he doesn’t disappoint. His Guthrie is a stern, hard-to-get-to-know-him director who has the success of the mass and its performance on his shoulders. The script tiptoes around his sexuality, which is likely what happened back during WWI days. Okereke as the soprano who has to learn to trust herself has a winning spirit. Dudman as the soldier who comes home missing his arm and finding out that his lover is gone too has the most pivotal role. The way the character is written, he is less prone to showing his anger and disappointment yet blossoms as he throws himself into the choir. That’s his refuge. A refuge they all share.  

The storyline is dotted with enough ups and downs to keep audiences guessing. Can they put on the show?  Can they not? There is something so sacred and right about hearing voices in a church sing in exaltation that by films’ end, viewers will be ready for the last chord. And audiences who like history, films like Downton Abbeyand music will love the finale in a special way.  

The Choral is a salve for these times, too. Or as Dr. Guthrie puts it, “Life is sh-t, so sing!”  

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YL4_bEKSzc

Photos courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival 
For more information about the Toronto International Film Festival go to https://tiff.net/. 
Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.