89-year-old war veteran Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine) lives in assisted accommodation with his frail wife Rene (Glenda Jackson). When he fails to join an approved tour to the 70th anniversary D-Day commemoration, Bernie takes it upon himself to travel to France on his own – setting off a frantic search from aged care staff to local police to the television media.

Judge The Great Escaper by its title and its marketing, and it would be an easy film to dismiss. After all, these sorts of charming English comedies are commonplace, and usually easy to anticipate. Throw in a few respected elderly actors, a few unsuspecting authority figures, and a cheerful uplifting story, and you’ll have some pleasant fodder for the afternoon matinee crowd at the very least. It is a credit to the team behind The Great Escaper that this simply is not the case here. This is an unexpected pleasure, with some excellent acting, an interesting screenplay, and a very surprising blend of tones.

There was a real Bernie Jordan, for course, whose own journey to Normandy made news headlines at the time. The film draws only basic inspiration from that, however, and wisely focuses on its own narrative. Michael Caine is superb in a role that fully embraces his own age and physical frailties, and presents in striking detail the psychological impact of going to war. One expects from past experience for Caine’s journey to be an amusing romp. What is less anticipated is the sense of rising dread. It is not simply presented via Bernie Jordan, but also by the other veterans he encounters. John Standing is impactful as Arthur, a former air force officer who has arrived in France for the same commemorative event, and brings his own personal regrets and grief from his own war-time experience.

There is a tendency for war-based cinema to lack significant female characters, so it is refreshing to see The Great Escaper spend as much time back in England with Bernie’s wife Rene as it does with Bernie in France. Glenda Jackson infuses her character with a fabulous depth and nuance: sometimes soft and sentimental, oftentimes sharp and objectionable. She brings to life an entirely unexpected side to the film, with a story that incorporates both her own war-time experience as well as a considered meditation on death’s inevitability. Jackson’s scenes are well-supported by Danielle Vitalis as Adele, Rene’s resident nurse.

This all sounds rather morose and depressing, so of course it is crucial to impress how funny and entertaining The Great Escaper still manages to be. William Ivory’s screenplay, while structurally quite simple, manages to balance the different tones beautifully. Director Oliver Parker, whose 1995 film of Othello remains a personal favourite, keeps everything running on a deliberate low key. It is attractively shot, but never gaudily so, and the pace enables the focus to remain firmly on the characters and their interactions. This is a small film. It has not proved an awards contender or a break-out commercial hit, but it is a remarkable and commendable work. It also gains an unintended and rather heartbreaking frisson: this was Glenda Jackson’s final role, and she died shortly after completing it. What is more, Michael Caine has intimated in interviews that it is most likely his final screen role as well. Two absolute titans of British cinematic talent take their bow together: it almost feels disrespectful not to watch it.

The Great Escaper opens in Australian cinemas on 7 March 2024.