ONE LIFE

One life tells the story of Nicholas Winton who saved child refugees from Prague, at the onset of the First World War. Anthony Hopkins plays the lead and turns in a worthy performance that has already garnered talks-of-an-Oscar win; however, his wife, played by Lena Olin, is so woefully unconvincing, that if she removed her wig and glasses we’d all have been in on the joke – both props failing to make her part credible.
The drama progresses in a series of flashbacks, remembrances of the elderly Winton, who is sorting through old documents and photographs. In particular, trying to find a home for his scrapbook that details the rescues made by him (and others,) as part the British Committee for Refugees circa 1939.
Helena Bonham Carter plays Winton’s feisty mother, Babi, who livens up the screen and gets the (one?) funny line of the film. Johnny Flynn clumps through the movie as the youthful Nicky Winton; has he been cast purely on the premise that he passes for a younger-looking Hopkins? Unfortunately, he doesn’t bring enough depth to the role, not least you might find yourself fixating on his spectacles or the mole (pimple?) on the side of his face. His performances, alongside the repetitive, weepy, farewell scenes at the station, are all so contrived that they fail to achieve an emotional punch.
Highlights of the movie are the photographic records of the children, and some genuinely moving moments from the ‘That’s Life’ TV show re-enactments, when presenter, Esther Rantzen reveals Winton’s story. (Brunette Samantha Spiro was cast inexplicably as Rantzen, where again, the obvious wig and false teeth have one asking, what on earth?)
A nod to the good performances of the supporting cast members, Romola Garai and Alex Sharp as Committee members, who add appropriate grit to the Prague scenes.
Director James Hawes strays non too far from his TV roots, in fact, the film feels more like  a BBC small-screen offering, than otherwise. Albeit it’s a worthy story, the end product is a bit ho-hum.
When the finale of any film contains more than a few lines of explanatory titles, it’s usually a sign of inadequate visual storytelling, no?
RATING:  Mostly dull,  a chance of rain, with some bright patches