Written and directed by Richard Hawkins, in 1943, six disparate souls are sent on a secret government mission to produce adult propaganda films for the boys on the front, each one struggling under the weight of their own conscience in this war-torn world, and it’s not about to get any easier. Starring: Jack Bandeira, Natalie Quarry, John McCrea, Ronni Ancona, Ben Bela Böhm, Ollie Maddigan, Oscar Hoppe and Nigel Hastings.
With the urban legends and psychology behind Think of England, it’s very easy to see why the topic drew Richard Hawkins to explore it with this film. Within its story is a lot of weighty themes, mental health, prejudice, violence, survival and a lot of internalised shame, within the already heavy realm of war, and unfortunately Think of England doesn’t feel equipped to deal with that.
The setup gives off a stage feel, opening up the potential for something dramatic yet with a sense of humour, but that’s not what Think of England is. It’s not trying to be a classically British, dry or wry tale mixing emotion with humour, it’s attempting to create a genuine exploration of the devastating impact of war on the psyche in countless different ways, to many different degrees.
With that comes some fairly dark territory, which doesn’t at all match the visual persona created by Hawkins and cinematographer Sarah Cunningham. That’s not to say those elements aren’t well done, they’re good work, they simply don’t match the weight that this film is searching for. It’s a shame as the location choices, the colouring, and the intimacy of its visual had a decent amount of potential.
Part of why it misses the mark is because it’s a very tricky tale that Think of England is attempting to tell, one with much more complexity than is within its grasp. There’s a lack of a central character to become the heart of the film, a guide to lead the audience through it, which could have helped. Although, none of the characters are traditionally likable. The tone is rather uncomfortable, which deepens the struggle to connect. There’s something unshakably broken and disconnected about its personality and characters, which is appropriate for the themes, but is not an inherently effective or impactful choice, nor does it always feel intentional.
The performances are solid work, but again when they’re all establishing these flawed, egocentric, desperate, frantic characters, it’s hard to connect with them. They craft a constant air of friction and fear, which is well done but can occasionally feel like the film only has one speed, and that’s it. It exists solely within that uneasiness, and it needed to expand beyond that to do justice to its story, and the performances. They can only take the film so far when they don’t have enough to work with.
Think of England had an interesting concept but attempted to grapple with topics which required much more depth, weight and complexity, than it had the capacity for. It’s filled with so much discomfort but never truly gets to grips with the darkness of it all. It’s stuck in that one gear, and can’t manage expand the characters, personality or atmosphere to find some territory to connect with the audience. It’s a strange one, the tone was a very unique choice which sadly just doesn’t work, the visual choices then don’t match that tone, and it ultimately feels performative.
