Summary
An even lighter narrative touch than the straightforward epistolary novel, but this trip to the Channel Islands is a pleasant enough way to spend a few hours.
Cinema’s frequent returns to the impact of the Second World War on Britain have only intensified in the last few years. Between Dunkirk, Their Finest, and Darkest Hour, we can piece together a thorough understanding of the war as a lightning rod for British nationalism. Yet the occupation of the Channel Islands is less frequently discussed.
Based on the book by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, it concerns Juliet Ashton (Lily James), a young writer who is still finding her voice in post-War London. After receiving a letter from the Guernsey-based Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman), she heads out to meet him and his titular book club full of eccentrics. In the process, she finds out about the impact of the Nazi occupation and starts to fall in love with the people. The Channel Islanders, that is, not the Nazis.
Where the book reads like an alternate take on 84 Charing Cross Road, the film obviously removes many of the epistolary aspects of the novel. This is a necessity in the translation, as there’s only so long one can sustain montages set to voice-overs. Yet it also means that much of the exposition and backstory of these characters has been trimmed, making Juliet’s decision to pull up stumps and go to Guernsey a whirlwind choice. However, flashbacks to the war slowly reveal the stoic tragedy of the town, and why Juliet ultimately begins to fall for it.
The lack of the letters, however, scarcely seems to matter to the romantic plotting. The core love triangle is fairly on-rails from the beginning, with American love interest Mark Reynolds (Glen Powell) never truly standing a chance against the power of small town Britain. It’s funny that the film spends so much time playing up the forbidden romance between a Nazi and the late Elizabeth McKenna (Jessica Brown Findlay), but eventually tips its hat towards home-grown couplings.
The eclectic casting is precisely what you’d expect from a Mike Newell film, but then again so is the general saccharine flavour of it all. James and Huisman are the romantic leads that are happily interchangeable with any other similarly geared film. The deeper joy is in the supporting cast, whether its reliable stalwarts like Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton or The IT Crowd‘s Katherine Parkinson as Isola, who’s a little bit psychic.
Ultimately the shift from page to screen gives us the Reader’s Digest version of Guernsey, resulting in few chances to really get to know these characters and a rushed denouement. It’s entirely possible you will forget the experience within days or weeks of the closing credits, but it doesn’t mean you won’t have a nice holiday in the Channel Islands during your short stay. We just wouldn’t want to live there.
