One Life (12A)

Dir: James Hawes

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Flynn, Lena Olin, Romola Garai, Alex Sharp, Jonathan Pryce

While it may be conventional ‘One Life‘ succeeds in telling the heart-warming true story of Nicholas Winton and his remarkable humanitarian efforts

Predominantly known for his menacing turn as iconic psychologist-turned-cannibal Hannibal Lecter over thirty years ago, Sir Anthony Hopkins has seen a late career resurgence in recent years. Off the back of his Academy Award winning performance in Jonathan Demme‘s Silence of the Lambs, the legendary Welsh actor became trapped in a cycle of thankless roles in occasionally serviceable but usually forgettable crime thrillers.

It was not until his Oscar-nominated performance as Pope Benedict XVI in Fernando Meirelles‘ excellently written The Two Popes, that reminded audiences of how talented and versatile an actor he is. Hopkins would then back this up further, with arguably the best performance of his career in Florian Zeller‘s heart-breaking dementia based drama The Father. Having been known for his more stern roles in the past, it was striking and almost otherworldly to see Hopkins portray a character of such warmth and vulnerability.

Hopkins’ is able to recapture that warmth in his latest project, with his portrayal of real life humanitarian Nicholas Winton. ‘One Life’ tells the remarkable true story of Winton and his fellow members of British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC), who managed to rescue hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. Directed by James Hawes in his directorial feature ‘One Life‘ is the latest and most high profile adaptation of Winton’s efforts, with most members of the British public being made aware him following a TV special of BBC programme That’s Life! in 1988.

The story introduces us to a 72-year-old Winton (Anthony Hopkins), now living in Maidenhead in 1987, retired and focusing on charity work. After building up a bad habit for hording a lifetime of documentation, Winton begins to remove the clutter at behest of his wife Grete (Lena Olin), and soon comes across a briefcase containing cherished documents recording his efforts with BCRC fifty years prior.

In 1938, we see a then 29-year-old Winton (Johnny Flynn) put his career as a successful London stockbroker on hold to visit Prague, where he encounters hundreds of families living in poverty having fled Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland. Winton is informed by the head of the BCRC in Prague that due to lack of funding and resources, there is no hope to save those in need. Supported by his mother, Babette (Helena Bonham Carter) and fellow BCRC volunteers, a determined Winton sets out to overcome the bureaucratic and financial hurdles needed to have hundreds of Jewish children relocated to the safety England.

Going into this, I was ashamedly unfamiliar with this quite astonishing story. I think the monumental task that Nicholas Winton was able to undertake is so inspiring, it makes it impossible to not get emotionally invested in this film. The back-and-forth structure is able to highlight the contrast in Winton’s mentality before and after the war. Johnny Flynn’s portrayal of the young Winton captures the initial horror and subsequent obsessive determination as he attempts to save those in need, despite himself being financially and physically safe from any dangers at his cosy London townhouse. Whereas Hopkins’ portrayal of the aged Winton is one racked with guilt, unwilling to accept his accomplishment believing he could have saved more lives.

Whilst I do think the scenes surrounding the BCRC and the surrounding German-occupied Prague do lack any creative or emotional originality, they manage to do just enough to keep up the momentum in telling this story, which is all the film needs to do in order to get its message across. It at times feels like a low budget TV production and James Hawes may approach it too safe but this still does not detract from what matters. It is the scenes starring Hopkins where the film is at its strongest, as we see Winton begin to let go of his past regrets as his self-perception begins to shift. This all culminates with Winton’s appearance on That’s Life! as we visually see Winton accept the good he has done before our very eyes, and finally take responsibility for the many lives he has saved. It is a truly moving moment that would make even the most stone-hearted viewer shed a tear.

While it may be safe and lacking in any individuality from a filmmaking perspective ‘One Life‘ successfully portrays a truly remarkable man at two key stages in his eventful life and will have you sniffling by the time the end credits begin to roll.

One Life is now showing in UK Cinemas