Munich: The Edge of War
NETFLIXIt is not often audiences see behind the veiled curtain of sticky, pre-war problems. Munich: The Edge of War isn’t going to work that all too much. Overshadowed by the giant figure of Winston Churchill, the work of Neville Chamberlain (played here by Jeremy Irons) is often overlooked. It does not help that he died before the end of the second world war. But what does happen here for this Christian Schwochow-directed piece is the rare ability to see behind the panic that would soon settle in. The pre-war preparations of a soon-to-be war-torn Britain and the man at the helm who, by all accounts in Munich: The Edge of War, wasn’t quite suited to leadership. George Mackay isn’t suited to this leading role, either.
Where he was so confident and trustworthy in 1917, there is the fear that he must now continue just that. Munich: The Edge of War is more of the same but without all the running around or blood, sweat and tears of the barbaric events of the First World War. Instead, Mackay is slotted into this political thriller that has little to do with the fighting and more to do with the breakdown in democracy that led to warfare. Most of it, Schwochow would imply, was down to Chamberlain. Irons’ portrayal is the strongest part of Munich: The Edge of War. Ironic it may be to call Irons the strongest part of a film where he plays the weakest link in any room, it is the charisma he feels for this role that brings it down to the tired and worried Prime Minister that wouldn’t see much of the war. Even then, it is those brief moments with such a decent supporting performer that weigh out the barbaric dullness of Mackay’s leading role.
A shame, too. He is not a bad performer, but Munich: The Edge of War slides dull romantic troubles and poor dialogue into his role. Sloppy foreshadowing is around every corner. It is futile to resist it. Accept it for what it is or lose out on the brief moments of brilliance that can be siphoned off of Munich: The Edge of War. Some moments have strong performances underlining them, and to counter that there are scenes that feel like a wartime version of Yes, Prime Minister. Bumbling leaders backed up by a few stronger allies, “sod the foreign secretary,” the bumbling Chamberlain boasts. How was he to know he was months away from being completely destroyed as a world leader? Schwochow portrays that well but forgets that most audience members will know the fate of this doomed wartime leader.
Drunken stupors throw out quips about the “country’s soul” in that old hat, upper-class styling. It is neither likeable nor entertaining. Munich: The Edge of War is unknowable because of how skewered its depictions are. Champagne-stealing vagabonds make up the main cast, with their London-clad lifestyle giving little in the way of emotive material. Wives and children pushed to the wayside for the work in gripping the country and holding firm. That much is interesting, but there is much waste in Munich: The Edge of War, a fine enough film that is far too inconsistent to make itself a worthy portrayal of world events.