Movie Review: The Choral

By John Corrado

The Choral is a British period drama set during World War I. But instead of taking us to the Western Front, the story stays focused on the best efforts of a choir in a small English town that is desperate to deliver a distraction from the ongoing war.

It’s an approach that feels both refreshing and works to deliver a satisfying piece of entertainment, with director Nicholas Hytner and screenwriter Alan Bennett, who previously teamed up on the films The Lady in the Van, The History Boys and The Madness of King George, having crafted an enjoyable crowdpleaser.

Ralph Fiennes stars in The Choral as Dr. Henry Guthrie, who is brought in as the new chorus master to lead the fictional town of Ramsden, Yorkshire’s choral society in the year 1916. Henry is a controversial choice amongst the locals, who bristle about the fact that he has been working in Germany for a few years. There are also whispers about him being unmarried and not having a wife.

Henry’s job is to rebuild the choir after most of the men have been conscripted. This includes recruiting a group of young lads who can sing. They are working on a performance of composer Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, chosen to replace their planned performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, mainly because the composer Elgar is not German.

The film introduces us to a charming ensemble cast of characters, but The Choral really is set up as Fiennes’ show. Fiennes is excellent at playing this sort of serious, demanding figure who knows music and doesn’t suffer fools (or amateur singers) gladly, but also subtly portrays the underlying emotion of the role, hidden under a characteristically stiff upper lip. It’s very satisfying to watch him in a role like this, and the film uses that as its secret weapon.

It’s also fitting for a film about a musical performance being used as a distraction from the war, that The Choral manages to find some moments of levity in its own right. The film could’ve been dry, but Hytner instead keeps it surprisingly entertaining, underscored by moments of pathos and humanity. The war is kept completely off-screen, but weighs heavily on the characters, from loved ones having been killed or injured on the frontline, to the threat of being conscripted hanging over the young lads’ heads. It adds a poignant undertone to the story.

This is the perfect example of a film that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but to simply be the best version of this sort of film that it can be, even if it arguably goes on a little longer than it needs to at the end. It’s the sort of satisfying, crowd-pleasing period drama that the British do very well, with Fiennes delivering another strong performance in the lead. They wouldn’t keep making these sorts of movies if they didn’t work.