Review by Therese H

Starring Ralph Fiennes, Amara Okereke, Jacob Dudman; Directed by Nicholas Hytner

A village choral society in 1916 appoints a new chorus master who needs to swell their numbers ready for a planned concert - a task made harder due to so many men being called up into the army. They patriotically choose to perform The Dream of Gerontius by Sir Edward Elgar in preference to a work by a German composer. The film, written by Alan Bennett, portrays the changing dynamics within the choir as the members, old and new, practise together in the weeks before the concert. Elgar himself makes a brief visit during a rehearsal, and is unimpressed by the "changes" they have made to his work. Nevertheless they go ahead as planned and put on a very topical and semi-dramatised performance which has a powerful effect on the audience.

Our group all agreed that The Choral is beautifully filmed and strongly acted by all the cast. The story has amusing moments and a certain nostalgia and sentimentality about it, but is also unflinching about the harrowing effects of World War 1. Overall, well worth seeing.