Six Minutes to Midnight
IFC
To quip a line from Ron Perlman, ‘War never changes.’, and nor do the films that look to capture it. Six Minutes to Midnight, the latest in a never-ending series of battle-clad melodramas, depicts a teacher attempting to convince those around him that conflict is coming. The Second World War and all its stoic characters are displayed with a quintessential Britishness. Foul play, double agents and the brooding worries of warfare overseas are felt in this feature debut from Andy Goddard, who relies on the name value of Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Eddie Izzard to spark life into his project that, had it not been for the performances within, would have died in the vast void of period dramas that wish to use the Second World War as a narrative crutch.
Few films do anything with this backdrop, but Six Minutes to Midnight uses the effect of brooding tensions rather well. A narrative penned by Goddard, Izzard and Celyn Jones pairs a good stranger with the dark eccentricities of a boarding house for daughters of the Nazi High Command. Sudden, early twists reveal the realities of the narrative, and they are far more rewarding than the story that is initially laid out. Never quite shaking that British model of filmmaking, the oddly sick rose-tinted view of the pre-war period is present, but adapted well. A battle ensues, with Goddard in an early lead, providing some exceptional direction in among the more predictable shot-reverse-shots and close-ups necessary to building tension in a drama removed from the Hollywood sphere. Perhaps it is the influx of British artists here, with Kevin Eldon and Jim Broadbent appearing, that keeps Six Minutes to Midnight enclosed far away from the Hollywood touch.
Its tension and narrative is crafted well, creating a formidable experience that feels genuine and written with heart. Such a feeling is not enough to salvage all the loose ends and oddities, but it is more than enough to portray a decent narrative. Izzard’s leading performance shows their versatile range not just as a writer, but a performer also. Thomas Miller is also fleshed out enough as a character to develop the mystery at the heart of it, the thriller and all the tensions that come with such a story planted deep into the heart of this narrative. Dench excels here, giving a strong performance in a role that breaks her typecast approach to recent performances as she shares more than a handful of great scenes with Izzard.
An attraction to the seaside is understandable, but many war films in the past few years have used the relatively attractive, cloudy beaches of Britain as a backdrop for their humdrum variety of charmless characters. Their Finest, Summerland, and even The Railway Man, all share this fleeting feeling of Britishness, and Six Minutes to Midnight joins in for the conga line of mediocrity. There are sparks of quality throughout, and a nice lead from Izzard is both surprising and effective in regaling this story, but the dots are not quite joined together. Move past the bizarre premise of Six Minutes to Midnight and its rather predictable stature, and there is a good bit of entertainment to be found within. It’s a clumsy yet somewhat comfortable and enjoyable piece, which is not a bad start at all for Goddard and company.