← Back to Reviews
in
Reality-based WW I drama that tells a worthwhile tale that certainly can be fascinating but the presentation is a little unremarkable and also incorporates elements that are both predictable and somewhat contrived in places.
The film does quite well early in the early stages of portraying the isolation of those that held station in the underground tunnels, listening for signs of activity from their opposite numbers, but sadly shifts the action overground for a mission that does manage a little tension but also lacks a little realism.
The horrors of life in the trenches does come across to an extent though the depiction does ultimately feel somewhat sanitised. Sadly the claustrophobic tunnels employed reasonably well in the first half of proceedings do also give way to much larger ones when the story shifts to the titular hill for the second half but the introduction of a little cat and mouse activity between the Allies and the Germans is very much welcome and by far the most interesting aspect imo.
Dotted throughout are flashback scenes that admittedly do both give a little backstory to the principle character and an easy route for closure to the story but for the most part are a distraction and generally feel like unnecessary padding.
Beneath Hill 60 is a little disappointing and leaves the feeling that it could have been better but is a worthwhile movie in terms of telling an aspect of WW I that certainly deserves to be told which predisposes me to erring on the side of slight generosity in awarding it a
Beneath Hill 60
Jeremy Sims
2010
Jeremy Sims
2010
Reality-based WW I drama that tells a worthwhile tale that certainly can be fascinating but the presentation is a little unremarkable and also incorporates elements that are both predictable and somewhat contrived in places.
The film does quite well early in the early stages of portraying the isolation of those that held station in the underground tunnels, listening for signs of activity from their opposite numbers, but sadly shifts the action overground for a mission that does manage a little tension but also lacks a little realism.
The horrors of life in the trenches does come across to an extent though the depiction does ultimately feel somewhat sanitised. Sadly the claustrophobic tunnels employed reasonably well in the first half of proceedings do also give way to much larger ones when the story shifts to the titular hill for the second half but the introduction of a little cat and mouse activity between the Allies and the Germans is very much welcome and by far the most interesting aspect imo.
Dotted throughout are flashback scenes that admittedly do both give a little backstory to the principle character and an easy route for closure to the story but for the most part are a distraction and generally feel like unnecessary padding.
Beneath Hill 60 is a little disappointing and leaves the feeling that it could have been better but is a worthwhile movie in terms of telling an aspect of WW I that certainly deserves to be told which predisposes me to erring on the side of slight generosity in awarding it a