Gerry Collins

As someone who recoils from intrusive effects and soundtracks in modern over-produced films (Oppenheimer being the most recent), it was refreshing to watch one which, while carrying a clear message, did not bombard the audience with over-obvious or sensational contrivances. A good script and excellent acting were all that was needed, given our ingrained knowledge of what was going on inside the Camp's walls, to examine the callous complacency of the family and, one suspects, of a large segment of the Third Reich generation. As if the director felt something was needed to express his personal horror, intermittent and strange dream sequences, and short sections of a disturbing musical score were added, but I felt these were unnecessary. Much more effective was the contrast of the mundane - female cleaners sweeping out the empty gas chamber and ovens, the Hoss mother-in-law sunbathing but coughing in the chimney fumes - with a reality which we never see but which dominates.

An interesting storyline of a young, deeply religious - some might say indoctrinated - conscientious objector starts really well, exploring his difficult relationship with his mentally battle-scarred father. We are charmed by his requited love for a pretty nurse (all the world loves a lover and all that), variously amused and shocked by his experiences as a WW2 army cadet who on principle refuses to fight or to hold a gun, and then shocked by his first experience of warfare on Okinawa. The problem with the film is, that's where it becomes a gory Hollywood version of battle, with our hero somehow surviving even adjacent shell bursts while those around him are variously torn limb from limb. For warfare scenes, it doesn't come close to the reality of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.

Quite a watchable film, much more comfortable than I thought it might be, bearing in mind it's set amid the Troubles. However I found it rather trite and superficial: it's supposed to be a family drama, but when every member of the family concerned is a gem, drama is in short supply. Extracts of several early Van Morrison songs (his best period) punctuate the action.

A perfectly entertaining film, whose plot takes a number of twists - some predictable, others surprising. Definitely worth seeing but I don't think it will be regarded as a classic in the long term, despite its Palme d'Or and Oscar awards. The bloodthirsty bits are not really horrific, mainly because by that stage you have realised that these are not real characters so you don't feel particularly protective towards any of them. Overall the comedy episodes remain in the memory longest. It's Tarantino-plus.

I am not a fan of Laurel and Hardy, but decided to see this film because it was well reviewed. It was a delight. Both lead actors were superb in their roles: together with the writer and director they have created characters in which you can believe. The protagonists of many modern big-budget and high-tech movies lack that credibility, with the result that you do not care much what happens to them. This film is an example of what cinema can achieve by the simple formula of a good script, a thoughtful director, and masterful acting.

On the positive side, I learnt more about Robert Oppenheimer's career than I had previously known, and the acting was good when it was allowed to be. However, I found the film unnecessarily disjointed, hopping back and forth in time: some scenes in black and white postdated those in full colour, to add to the confusion. The film score (more like an incessant effects track, with musical instruments) was loud and obtrusive in the narrative - for example a tumutuous (drum?) crescendo as we studied the protagonist's face, to indicate his troubled mind; or dialogue with orchestral backing to tell us of the importance of a particular conversation. For heaven's sake, this is not the 1930s: why not just let the actors act? I am confident that they would hold our attention and inform us less clumsily of their thoughts. The impression was left of an overbearing director and/or editor, more suited to action fantasies than the psycological and political drama that this should have been.