The Choral is a nostalgic set piece, circa Britain, 1916. Ramsden, a fictional northern town, seeks new members for its choral society—having lost many men to the war effort. A controversial new band master is recruited: Dr Henry Guthrie, efficiently played by Ralph (Rafe) Fiennes (Fines).
Auditions begin, and there are no surprises. The usual suspects appear: Local characters played by familiar stock —Roger Allam, Marc Addy, Alun Armstrong, Ron Cook. An Hon’ mention to actress, Lyndsey Marshall, who delivers a nuanced performance as the town’s ever-obliging, sex-worker, Mrs Bishop.
Naturally, there are young choral aspirants including Amara Okereke as the prim Mary and Emily Fairn as Bella – both characters become increasingly irritating – or is that just me?
Jacob Dudman plays Clyde, a returned, wounded soldier (missing an arm), and mates Ellis and Lofty (Oliver Briscombe and Taylor Utlee) round up the love interests. As the scrappy Ellis remarks, “grief is an opportunity!”
Competently directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George, The History Boys) with a screenplay by Alan Bennett and Stephen Beresford, the film presents a formulaic scenario: will they or won’t they perform? Many of the intended humorous lines fall flat, which is surprising given Bennett’s reputation. 
There are many, glaring incongruences, such as the scene in which Clyde asks Bella, his ex, to masturbate him because he hasn’t learned to do this with his left hand. What the?
Is the casting of Mary as a person of colour historically or socially accurate? It might have been, if the rampant racial discrimination of the time—which viewed an interracial couple as immoral and socially unacceptable—had been referenced. It wasn’t.
Choral-Master Guthrie proposes performing an Elgar composition given that German composers are out of the question. Later, Elgar himself appears as a not so subtle plot-point to heighten the conflict. Simon Russell Beale always a presence, upstages everyone in this role.
But mostly…the story is just a bit ‘meh’.
The film does lift in the final act, during the actual choral performance. And the underlying theme of doomed youth—likely never to return from war—is not lost on a modern audience.
My rating: About as interesting as a vestry clock, but the singers nail it.
One sugared, lukewarm tea in an enamel mug & three Huntley and Palmer biscuits.