In a care home, 89-year-old D-Day veteran Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine) plans to surprise his wife of 60 years Irene (Glenda Jackson) with a trip to Normandy to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the storming of the beach back in WWII. A nurse informs the duo, that Bernie has missed the boat for an organised trip. Regardless, Bernie goes AWOL.

Never Too Late (2020) and June Again (2021) were quaint movies about elderly residents escaping their care homes out of love. The Great Escaper goes deeper, exploring the pull of unfinished business away from a bedrock of love where the stakes could not be higher: Irene is not feeling the best, and Bernie is struggling with his diminishing independence. As a vet, Bernie is compelled to revisit the source of his unhealed trauma in an attempt for closure. 

The further Bernie travels away from his pleasant present life, the past beckons in increasingly horrific detail, but for the memory of his hard-won romance with Irene. The young couple are passionate but determined in the face of the biggest horror known to mankind. Their bond is forged early and solidly, lasting to the present where, once again, Irene understands Bernie’s need to go and can only hope that he again comes back.

Verdict: A surprisingly affecting and unsentimental drama that explores the reality and futility of war, and remembrance of those who sacrificed so much for a present way of life that is often taken for granted.

4 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net. Viewed at Dendy Cinemas.