FILM: The Choral (12A)

Ralph Fiennes leads an excellent ensemble in Alan Bennett's funny and moving First World War drama.

A Yorkshire choral society finds its ranks depleted as men head off to war. With the annual performance looming, the society is forced to change its entry rules to enlist some unlikely teens and the musically gifted but socially scandalous Dr. Guthrie. Together, they experience the joy of singing Elgar, while the young boys grapple with their impending conscription into the army.

Brimming with humour and hope, Bennett and Nicholas Hytner’s latest triumph celebrates the power of community and music in the darkest of days.

Director: Nicholas Hytner.
Writer: Alan Bennett
Cast. Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy. 

"A quiet and consistent pleasure: an unsentimental but deeply felt drama which subcontracts actual passion to the music of Elgar and leaves us with a heartbeat of wit, poignancy and common sense." The Guardian ****