Full disclosure I’m a sucker for films that have a bit of an against the odds tale, add some family emotions and a bit of singing and you push lots of my films I’ll enjoy buttons.
The thing with films like this is they can easily spill into schmaltz and overly saccharine sweetness, but if they can avoid that you end up with an enjoyable cinema experience.
Military Wives for me falls into the latter category, based on “true events” it tells the story of the formation of a choir made up of the wives of military personnel away on active duty. The choir starts as a diversion for the women, part of a series of activities arranged by the wives of the regiments senior officers Kristen Scott Thomas’s Kate and Sharon Horgan’s Lisa, before of course becoming much more.
It’s this setup that you either go with or you don’t. The film itself follows a well trodden formula swinging between comedy and drama, laughs one minute and merciless heart string pulling the next and if that’s not for you I doubt this will be subtle enough to change your mind.
For me though, I’m happy to have those emotional buttons pressed, there is a huge heart to this film and it comes from the right place delivered with a sweetness and charm, Sharon Horgan in particular anchors the film with a solid performance and there’s a nice relationship with Kristen Scott Thomas, Horgan’s relaxed funny attitude running against Thomas’s Kate doing her duty while struggling with her own heartbreak.
Military Wives is not original, is hugely formulaic and mercilessly manipulates your emotions, but I didn’t care, it was delivered with heart and came from a good place, with characters who I cared about and could recognise.
It absolutely won’t be for everyone, but it did the trick for me, doubt it will be in my best of the year, but enjoyed it none the less.
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