In a brutal example of the tragedies faced at war, “Journey’s End” places the viewer directly in the British trenches of World War I. The movie, adapted from RC Sherriff’s 1928 play, attempts to show the different ways in which war changes lives, and ends them.
We meet Jimmy Raleigh (played by Asa Butterfield), a second lieutenant fresh out of training. He asks to be assigned to a company led by Captain Stanhope (Sam Claflin), a man Raleigh knew from school, even when he finds the company is being sent into the thick of the front. But when Raleigh arrives, he doesn’t find the old school friend he expected. Instead, he finds Stanhope much changed by his experiences, and Raleigh quickly learns why through firsthand experience.
There isn’t a lot of character development, but that is because there is no time for the characters to tell us their stories. Director Saul Dibb turns this lack of development into something that adds meaning to the film. We follow these characters for less than a week while they are in the midst of war. That is what is important — not Stanhope’s barely-mentioned love interest or anything more than the immediate experience of the characters. It seems like the most obvious flaw in the movie, but instead it offers the briefest of glimpses into who these people are and how that makes the war-time environment so real and emotional.
This purposeful lack of definition continues into one of the biggest climaxes of the movie. In an intense moment where the company raids a German trench, the camera shakes and the sound is chaotic. The characters’ confusion and terror are not only evident through their acting, but through the cinematography and sound that portray the experience.
Combined with a tragic ending, “Journey’s End” brings you achingly close to the World War I trenches. We feel the dark, close quarters with the soldiers, experience the jarring sound of bombs and gun shots as they do. We see the young lieutenant on his first assignment, the seasoned officer who knew what was coming — and then we see the immediate threat they all face.
But then the movie fails in the same place as most war movies — falling into the typical. There is no lack of war films out in the world, and each tries to rise above the last to make a bid for being remembered. But most fail, especially because of the framing of the plot. There’s always a stern but caring leader, a fresh-faced new recruit and the confrontation of imminent death.
“Journey’s End” does offer incredible acting and a strong ending, but it ultimately fails to make that lasting impression you need for a good war movie. Too much of it was full of the expected. While screenwriter Simon Reade did well in creating engaging action scenes, the dialogue between the officers and the time spent inside their underground quarters loses his vision. Claflin, Butterfield and all of the other actors play their parts well, but the dialogue feels stagnant and uninteresting.
“Journey’s End” is an average movie with a terrific ending. It is only made into something memorable by the raw emotion we see after tragedy and the fearful perseverance of soldiers when under attack. Without these things, all of which are seen in the last quarter of the movie, “Journey’s End” would have been nothing great.