‘Military Wives’ review – Beautiful ballad to female togetherness

Military Wives could be the feel-good movie of the year, and the fact that it’s directed by Peter Cattaneo, responsible for The Full Monty hit in 1997, is no coincidence.

His new production, also based on true events, visits the wives of those soldiers serving in Afghanistan, where a motley group of women on the home front at an army base form a choir to take their minds off more serious matters.

The ups and downs of this enterprise are the core of a delightfully funny, entertaining and heartfelt story.

These part-time singers quickly found themselves at the centre of a media sensation and a global movement, and Peter Cattaneo’s movie provides the details – even though a number of liberties were taken with the story.

Sharon Hogan and Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Military Wives’. Picture: Lionsgate

Written by Rosanne Flynn and Rachel Tunnard, Military Wives zings and sings with sterling performances from its two leading lights, Kristin Scott Thomas, as Kate, and Sharon Horgan, as Lisa, two officers’ wives who lead the musical revolution.

Their characters are constantly at each other’s throats, agreeing and disagreeing along the way, with one standout scene being a catfight between the two in a parking lot. They are constantly arguing over musical content.

Kate is the colonel’s wife. She has never been involved in this type of activity before, but feels they need to take their minds off what is happening to their husbands during a dangerous six-month deployment.

She suggests knitting among a few other activities. They eventually settle on a choir but Lisa, who is more in touch, wants them to sing pop songs as opposed to hymns.

Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Military Wives’. Picture: Lionsgate

The choir comprises a few oddball characters. One, Jess (Gaby French), is petrified of singing in front of an audience, but she has an amazing voice.

In one sequence the spouses, who have lost communication with their men, receive an impersonal text at the same time, a chorus of pings and buzzes that simultaneously scares every house.

Lisa is going through problems of her own. She has to deal with an insolent, binge-drinking teenage girl Frankie (India Ria Amarteifio) who requires military-type discipline, while Kate is all pearls and protocol, releasing her tension by secretly buying things on the home shopping channel.

Their major fights all occur before the inevitable Big Show when they are invited to perform at a Remembrance Day event at the Royal Albert Hall.

‘Military Wives’. Picture: Lionsgate

A telling factor is the manner in which Cattaneo captures the women’s banal existence on the base, all living in near-identical homes with walls all painted beige. No wonder they are given to opening a bottle or two of wine.

Each one handles her situation differently. Lisa boxes up her husband’s things as though he doesn’t exist, Kate pretends everything is fine. Others create a countdown calendar for their children, or cut-and-paste their own heads on softcore magazines that they mail to Kabul.

It’s inevitable, too, that one of the women will get a knock at the door with heartbreaking news.

Military Wives aims to put a feel-good touch on a bad situation and avoids dwelling on the war. It’s a beautiful ballad to female togetherness.

Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘Military Wives’. Picture: Lionsgate

Info

Rating: ★★★★☆
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan, Jason Flemyng, Emma Lowndes, Greg Wise, India Ria Amarteifio
Director: Peter Cattaneo

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