Journey's End Information

Journey's End is a British film adaptation of the play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff. Written by Simon Reade and directed by Saul Dibb, it is the fifth film adaptation of the play, following Journey's End (1930), The Other Side (1931), Aces High (1976), and a 1988 BBC TV film. The film was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

Cast

• Asa Butterfield - Second Lieutenant Raleigh
• Sam Claflin - Captain Stanhope
• Paul Bettany - Lieutenant Osborne
• Tom Sturridge - Second Lieutenant Hibbert
• Toby Jones - Private Mason
• Stephen Graham - Second Lieutenant Trotter
• Robert Glenister - The Colonel
• Nicholas Agnew - Corporal Pincher*
• Miles Jupp - Hardy
• Theo Barklem-Biggs - Watson*
• Jake Curran - Hammond*
• Andy Gathergood - Company Sergeant Major
• Rupert Wickham - General Raleigh*
• Jack Holden - Bert
• Tom Ward-Thomas - Hardy's Subaltern*
• Derek Barr - Transport Officer*
• Jack Riddiford - Evans*
• Elliot Balchin - Peters*
• Alas Lawson - Angele*
• Adam Colborne - Private Graham*
• Eirik Bar - Ernst, German prisoner
• Rose Reade - Margaret*
• Harry Jardine - Ration Soldier*

* = new character, does not appear in the stage play

Production

It was first announced in 2014, as part of the British commemoration of the First World War centenary, produced by Guy De Beaujeu and originally planned to be directed by David Grindley, who had previously directed a frequently revived stage production of the play.

This had been delayed by uncertainties over who held the film rights to the play in United Kingdom and Ireland, these had been thought to be with Warner Brothers, but following pressure from Prince Andrew, it was found that they had lapsed in 2008.

They were due to be signed over to Fluidity Films on 2 June 2014. The film's producer confirmed that their ideal casting would include Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redmayne, but that no actors had yet been approached. Further press information in December 2016 announced that the cast included Paul Bettany, Tom Sturridge and Toby Jones, and that it was due for release in 2017.

The film received a wider theatrical release in Spring 2018, 100 years after the events of the Spring Offensive which it depicts.

Reception

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 93% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Journey's End brings R.C. Sherriff's 90-year-old play to the screen with thrilling power, thanks to director Saul Dibb's hard-hitting urgency and brilliant work from a talented cast." Metacritic gave the film a score of 73 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Simran Hans of The Observer gave the film 3 stars out of 5, saying, "Sam Claflin is particularly good as the boozy, brooding Captain Stanhope, whose intensity, belligerence and self-loathing flesh out what might in less capable hands have been a cliched, shell-shocked soldier." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, calling it "expertly cast and really well acted: forthright, powerful, heartfelt." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter commented that "the film serves to illuminate how very different the British army - or any army - was then, with its class distinctions and comparatively polite conversational modes, and how differently wars are now fought." Dennis Harvey of Variety said, "The convincing physical production is shot in muddy earthtones by Laurie Rose and is well accentuated by an original score of urgent, mournful strings."