Alice Oscura – Featured Writer
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a romance/drama based on a 2008 novel of the same name written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. The film is directed by Mike Newell who does a great job on this piece in my opinion. The film is about a young woman named Juliet Ashton (Lily James) who is a writer that has now found a little success whilst promoting her latest book. Her life and fate begin to change, however, after receiving a letter from pig farmer Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman) from the island of Guernsey.
Guernsey is one of the islands in the English Channel off the French Coast of Normandy. The island is a British Crown dependency and is made of ten parishes. Guernsey was occupied by the Germans for most of WWII from June 30, 1940 until they were liberated on May 9, 1945. Life as a civilian during the occupation became increasingly difficult as many lost their jobs due to businesses being closed down. As the war progressed, the Nazis treatment of the civilians became harsher as animal livestock and radios were taken away. Food and medical supplies became scarce as they were taken to be used mostly for the wounded German soldiers. The Germans built many camps by use of forced labor and many deportations took place as civilians were sent to concentration camps in Germany.
Lily James is an actress that tends to do exceptionally well with these period pieces. She has the perfect look and screen presence for these types of roles and that is why she excels in this particular film. What is very noticeable is how the character of Juliet manages to look gorgeous in high society London fashion, but is uncomfortable at fancy get-togethers because she is obviously sympathetic to the fact that families are still struggling with the after effects of the war since this story take place in 1946, not too long after the end of WWII. England still required the use of ticket rations in order to stretch the food supplies and certain luxuries of the time. Then the character’s outfits change to a more simple casual look when she is in Guernsey and she seems so much more at ease in the environment.
What makes this film so beautiful is the fact that the entire main cast is likeable. The members of the supporting cast that make up the literary society have all been affected by the events of WWII and in coming together the reading and analysis of the books is what acted as their form of therapy to deal with the harsh effects of the German occupation. In some cases it helped them to deal with the grief of losing loved ones. Books have long been known to be very therapeutic no matter the type that you are into. Inmany ways they are far superior in being able to transport you away to another place in your mind where nothing can hurt you even if it is for a short period of time. That’s what this society became for this small group of people who unfortunately had to suffer some terrible atrocities.
It is definitely a feel-good movie that yes has a romantic happy ending! The journey is extremely enjoyable and full of different emotions. The stories of the characters are interesting and sometimes sad, but it seems to be enough that they have formed their own family and have silently vowed to take care of each other. It goes to show you that family is not only formed by blood but by friendship and love.
Alice’s Score: 8 out of 10
For my review of WWII drama A Hidden Life you can click here. And for more period film reviews you can like and follow Redmangoreviews on Facebook here.
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.