I like my British period dramas.
I’m fond of series like “Downton Abbey,” “The Crown,” and “Victoria.” I also enjoy theatrical pieces like “The King’s Speech.”
Any drama that looks like it could be a featured broadcast on the BBC or PBS Masterpiece is generally right up my alley.
The moment I saw the trailer for Netflix’s “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” I knew I’d add it to my watch list.
The movie itself — a production of Euro production company StudioCanal — was an “acquisition” by Netflix. It was released theatrically in the United Kingdom and France earlier this year.
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” is based on the 2008 novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows. The title alone drips “book club bait.”
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” is set in 1946, and follows a London-based writer named Juliet Ashton (Lily James), who is on tour promoting her latest tome (written under the name Izzy Bickerstaff).
Her publisher Sidney (Matthew Goode) has set up a gig for Ashton to write a piece for The London Times about the virtues of reading.
Ashton receives a letter from a man named Dawsey Adams (Michiel Huisman) — a farmer on the Island of Guernsey who has a copy of The Selected Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb with Ashton’s name and address on the inside flap.
He tells Ashton he’s read the book many times, and that Lamb’s writing made him laugh. Since there are no bookshops left on Guernsey, he is looking to procure a copy of Lamb’s “Tales From Shakespeare,” and wonders if she can send him the address of a shop in London.
Ashton muses that there might be “some secret sort of homing instinct in books.” She is happy to purchase the book and send it to Adams, but asks for him to answer three questions in return.
Those questions are related to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society — a group Adams mentions he is a member of in his letter (the club was started in 1941 as a way to hide a roast pig from soldiers during the Nazi occupation in World War II).
Before long, Ashton journeys to the Island of Guernsey to learn more about Adams, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society — sensing it might be fodder for a story.
I must admit that I didn’t know German forces occupied the Channel Islands (of which the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a part) during World War II. It turns out the islands were under Nazi control from June 30, 1940 until May 9, 1945 — the only part of the British Isles to be occupied.
This interesting footnote in history makes for some intriguing drama in “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.”
Ashton soon discovers the “book club” is about more than just sharing stories. A mystery lurks about a member who went missing during the war and the daughter, Kit (Florence Keen), she left behind.
Fans of “Downton Abbey” will be happy too see Lily James, Matthew Goode, and Penelope Wilton reunited on screen.
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” is directed by Mike Newell. While the name might not sound familiar, Newell directed “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
The film itself is an engaging period piece. Handsome production design and solid performances elevate the material.
There are some romantic movie cliches and conventions that pop up in “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” For example, Ashton is “in a relationship” with a diplomat (Glen Powell) at the beginning of the movie. Despite the man’s charm, you can sense a mile away that Juliet’s heart is meant for another.
But that’s a minor quibble, and fairly routine for this territory.
Earlier this week I wrote about actress Lily James in my review of “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” She really is a delightful performer, and does a good job playing a restless writer who has made her home “in the world of books.“
Books are something that have been important in my life, and I responded to “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” as a result.
Definitely worth checking out.
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I just watched and thoroughly enjoyed it. The acting was well played.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to your comment, I hadn’t considered that Guernsey was one of the Channel Islands and that they were occupied by German forces in WWII.
The story was engaging and made you feel the torment of war. The look-back from several years later softened the characters’ understanding of what Elizabeth faced and the decisions she made.
Well worth watching.
Agreed, Barb!! :-)
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