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SThere’s a potentially interesting idea here and a good cast. But then it all falls apart into a very strange and misjudged mess. It may seem like a cheeky joke, but it’s actually devastatingly serious, like a stilted, unnatural stage play. Sexual assault, PTSD, misogyny, etc. are some of the issues that movies cannot convincingly address.
Writer-director Richard Hawkins (who wrote the screenplay for Paul Greengrass’ The Theory of Flight) imagines that during World War II, the British government commissioned pornographic films to be shown to boost military morale. This is believed to be based on an “urban myth” whose existence is not clear outside of online sources related to the film. Britain’s Political Warfare Executive (PWE) is known to have dropped pornographic leaflets over Germany to undermine enemy morale, and to have crudely described wives cheating on their absentee soldier husbands.
The scene is in remote Orkney, where the Ministry of Intelligence has gathered a ragtag group of undesirables from military and civilian life to produce Think of England, a pornographic film featuring three costume-changing versions of a soldier, sailor and airman. They each return home from their vacation to enjoy some marital relief. John McCrea plays the thin-lipped Captain Clune, tasked with completing this unpleasant task and struggling with his own sexual insecurities. Ronni Ancona is Agnes, a world-renowned hair and makeup expert. Natalie Quarry plays the wife, Holly, a cabaret dancer. Jack Bandeira plays Corporal Evans, a Citizen Street movie star aka “Tyrone Higgs” and would-be lecherous husband. However, Evans is very violent and distraught due to a terrible trauma that we briefly see in brief flashbacks. But, very poorly, it’s not fully explained until the stupid, pseudo-historical title over the closing credits. Ben Bela Böhm plays Max Meyer, a German-Jewish immigrant director who handles the entire shoot.
Filming progresses, but Corporal Evans spots someone lurking outside and runs off halfway through, creating an absurd parallel subplot that further undermines the plausibility of the film. Still, there is one good scene. Director Max must teach pouty Holly how to handle the camera and manage dialogue in close-up scenes. The film achieves an interesting intimacy in those moments. There’s a real, adult quality to it that you won’t find anywhere else. Unfortunately, the movie is ridiculous and shocking.