Director: James Hawes
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Helena Bonham Carter
Genre: Drama, Biography, History
Writer: Lucinda Coxon, Nick Drake
Runtime: 109 min
Rated: PG for thematic material, smoking and some language
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV
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Synopsis:
Based on the book If It's Not Impossible…: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton by Barbara Winton, ONE LIFE tells the incredible, emotional true story of Nicholas 'Nicky' Winton (Flynn), a young London broker who visits Prague in December 1938. In a race against time, Winton convinces Trevor Chadwick (Sharp) and Doreen Warriner (Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia to rescue as many children as possible before Nazi occupation closes the borders. Fifty years later, Nicky (Hopkins) is haunted by the fate of the children he wasn't able to bring to safety in England. It's not until the BBC show 'That's Life!' re-introduces him to some of those he helped rescue that he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he carried – all the while skyrocketing from anonymity to a national hero.
Review:
The title of the 2023 biopic "One Life" refers to the Jewish Talmud's often paraphrased line "He who saves one life saves the world entire", which you might also remember from "Schindler's List". The story of the 669 Jewish children Sir Nicholas Winton helped save as Hitler was getting ready to invade Czechoslovakia has never before been adapted for the screen.
Winton's selfless deeds were first revealed in 1988 on the BBC show "That's Life!", and then documented in the 2014 non-fiction book "If It's Not Impossible...: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton" written by Winton's daughter Barbara. There are around 6000 people in the world today who owe their lives to Nicholas Winton.
The movie uses two separate narrative threads, one following 29-year old Nicholas as he puts together the complex Kindertransport operation, and the other focusing on 79-year old Nicholas' struggles with the past. The film jumps back and forth between the two threads, which is an interesting way to tell this story, keeping the viewer invested and interested, but it occasionally struggles to balance the uneven narrative. I also felt like the details of the operation were a bit rushed, probably in an effort to not bore the audience.
Johnny Flynn and Anthony Hopkins are both great as the young and old versions of Nicholas, but Hopkins steals the show. While the former basically plays an innocent idealistic ordinary, everyday hero, Hopkins gets the much meatier side of that character in a role that requires more nuance and emotional depth as Winton is haunted by memories of the lives he couldn't save. It's also worth mentioning Helena Bonham Carter, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce and Lena Olin who round out the cast with solid performances.
Director James Hawes is a TV helmer who has worked on shows like "Black Mirror", "Snowpiercer" and "Slow Horses". The film is mostly competent, but has something of a generic "made-for-TV" feel, although fancy camerawork and lavish production values feel like less of a problem because the core of the story is so strong. Be ready to get choked up by the film's recreation of the BBC shows that revealed Winton's story.
It's not a biopic to end all biopics. As far as film craft goes, it's a middling effort, but it's a well-meaning biographical drama that tells an extraordinary story and features riveting performances. It's definitely worth watching and I can easily recommend this to anyone looking for a heartbreaking true story.
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