Their Finest (2017)
83%RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 7 nominations
Carried along by a winning performance from Gemma Arterton, Their Finest smoothly combines comedy and wartime drama to crowd-pleasing effect
Their Finest is a charming and heartwarming film that will make you forget about the “alternative facts” of today’s world. With a sweet love story and a talented cast of British actors, this movie is the perfect escape from reality. Plus, Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin’s chemistry is absolute perfection, making you root for their characters’ romance. And let’s not forget Bill Nighy’s hilarious performance as Ambrose. Director Lone Scherfig balances the film’s tones perfectly, creating a touching and funny story that will leave you feeling good. So grab some popcorn and tissues, because Their Finest is a delightful ride from start to finish.
Production Company(ies)
Fine Line Features, Capitol Films, Channel Four Films,
Distributor
STX Entertainment
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Porthgain Harbour, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some language and a scene of sexuality
Year of Release
2017
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 57m
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Language(s):English, Hungarian, Polish, French
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 7, 2017 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 11, 2017
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Helen McCrory, Jack Huston, Richard E Grant, directed by Lone Scherfig, written by Gaby Chiappe, produced by Finola Dwyer, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Amanda Posey, comedy, history, romance, drama, R rating, box office gross $3.6M, reviewed by Cecilia Nowell, John Doyle, J.R Jones, Anne Cohen, Sara Michelle Fetters, Sandra Hall, Brian Eggert, Susan Wloszczyna, Kip Mooney, Charlotte Harrison, Richard Propes, Leigh Monson, female empowerment, WWII, Dunkirk, propaganda, movie making, British cinema, US involvement, morale, war drama, meta-narrative, female screenwriter, aging actor, emotional tone, schmaltzy acting style
Worldwide gross: $12,597,262
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,195,272
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,812
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,657,063
US/Canada gross: $3,603,484
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,346,652
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,841
US/Canada opening weekend: $76,197
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $91,912
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,962
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 10000000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $12,062,361
Production budget ranking: 1,594
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $6,495,581
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$3,362,670
ROI to date (est.): -18%
ROI ranking: 1,491
Sam Claflin – Tom Buckley
Bill Nighy – Ambrose Hilliard, Uncle Frank
Helen McCrory – Sophie Smith
Jack Huston – Ellis Cole
Richard E. Grant – Roger Swain
Director – Lone Scherfig
Producer – Finola Dwyer, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Amanda Posey
Writer – Gaby Chiappe
Director(s)
Lone Scherfig
Writer(s)
Gaby Chiappe
Producer(s)
Finola Dwyer, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Amanda Posey
Film Festivals
Sundance, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 7 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (173) | Top Critics (49) | Fresh (156) | Rotten (17)
It feels inappropriate to be moved by a film about propaganda during an era of “alternative facts.” Yet I found my soul soothed by Their Finest.
March 2, 2021
Cecilia Nowell
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
There’s a sweet love story and some wonderful work by an array of British actors. My heavens, this is charming, rib-tickling escapism.
January 27, 2021
John Doyle
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
The characters’ endless revision of the film within the film tends to heighten one’s awareness of the compromises that must have gone into the writing of this formulaic piece.
March 26, 2020
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Their Finest is poignant, well-acted, and at times, pretty fun to watch.
June 27, 2017
Anne Cohen
Refinery29
TOP CRITIC
Arterton is excellent, her chemistry with Claflin absolute perfection, the two actors disappearing into their respective roles.
April 27, 2017 | Rating: 3.5/4
Sara Michelle Fetters
MovieFreak.com
TOP CRITIC
Scherfig has shot the film in a soft-focus wash of chestnut and sepia tones — the colours of nostalgia — and the screenplay catches Evans’ tone without being quite as funny as the book, despite Nighy’s Ambrose.
April 26, 2017 | Rating: 3.5/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Scherfig balances what in another directors hands could be an uneven mixture of tones, carefully maneuvering around the pervasive wartime trauma to find romantic, funny, and touching moments.
April 4, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Sparks fly between her and a cynical fellow writer Tom (Sam Claflin, duly intellectualized with specs and a ‘stache) and Arterton knows how to pretty-cry with panache when tears are required.
October 5, 2021
Susan Wloszczyna
AWFJ Women on Film
A delight from start to finish, except for the part where the film rips your heart out.
August 24, 2021 | Rating: B
Kip Mooney
College Movie Review
…well it’s close to cinema perfection in my eyes.
January 5, 2021
Charlotte Harrison
Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies
Arterton, an underrated actress, gives a rich and believable performance with stellar comic timing, while Sam Claflin gives a perfect companion performance.
September 26, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Ultimately, I liked Their Finest as a historical look at the moviemaking process, and the character drama adds a nice skeletal structure with which to explore that.
September 24, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Leigh Monson
Substream Magazine…
Plot
During the London Blitz of World War II, Catrin Cole is recruited by the British Ministry of Information to write scripts for propaganda films that the public will actually watch without scoffing. In the line of her new duties, Cole investigates the story of two young women who supposedly piloted a boat in the Dunkirk Evacuation. Although it proved a complete misapprehension, the story becomes the basis for a fictional film with some possible appeal. As Cole labors to write the script with her new colleagues such as Tom Buckley, veteran actor Ambrose Hilliard must accept that his days as a leading man are over as he joins the project. Together, this disparate trio must struggle against such complications such as sexism against Cole, jealous relatives, and political interference in their artistic decisions even as London endures the bombs of the enemy. In the face of those challenges, they share a hope to contribute something meaningful in this time of war and in their own lives.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Bill Nighy gives a hilariously pompous performance as an aging actor in Their Finest.
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