A beautiful, evocative photo that, unfortunately, remains two dimensional.
There is much to recommend this new Australian/UK co-production. The performances are great, the cinematography stunning and the subject matter deeply emotional. There are some wonderful moments of both warmth and revelation. But ultimately the story doesn't take me anywhere.
Margaret, played pitch perfect by Emily Watson, is an English social worker who discovers that children were deported from Britain to Australia, without their families' knowledge, throughout the 20th Century. Her life is absorbed by the quest to reunite families, bring closure to the victims and hold governments to account. You don't find out much more about the emigration scheme, or Margaret and her family. Margaret's mission takes a heavy toll on her family but this is never resolved. The characters of the people that Margaret helps are sketched but not filled out and their stories are only told in service to Margaret story.
I wanted so much more from this film. I wanted to love it, but it only moved me as a snapshot would. It only gave me a hint of what happened to Margaret, her family and the victims of the scheme. It was a first feature from writer director Jim Loach and I look forward to another. I hope his next one satisfies.
Interestingly, this was one of the most-read reviews on my blog. The 'big picture', factually anchored story needed to be told, and in some ways does more justice to the thousands of real people affected by not focusing on just one of them. But yes, Margaret doesn't have a satisfying arc, and there's a more engaging, moving, personal story out there, I suspect.
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