Today marks Alec Guinness's 100th birthday. One of his last roles came in A Foreign Field (1993), a top-shelf BBC ensemble drama. Director Charles Sturridge provides a subdued hymn to the Greatest Generation, alternately funny and poignant.Cyril (Leo McKern) and mentally challenged Amos (Alec Guinness) arrive in Calvados, France. They want to pay tribute to a fallen wartime comrade, though Cyril hopes to reconnect with wartime lover Angelique (Jeanne Moreau). Cyril finds American Waldo (John Randolph) on Angelique's tail, the two swapping insults and drinks. Waldo's tightly-wound daughter Beverly (Geraldine Chaplin) and nebbish son-in-law Ralph (Edward Herrman) grump along for the ride, along with widowed Lisa (Lauren Bacall).
A Foreign Field starts as a light comedy: Cyril and Waldo get some excellent Anglo-American sparring, along with Ralph's sad sack reactions and Angelique's wild insouciance. Gradually though, Field becomes a melancholy dirge. Characters bond over war stories and especially music: Amos communicates better through harmonica than his limited speech, leading renditions La Vie En Rose and Lili Marlene. The beautiful French locations only heighten the emotional charge, contrasted with cemeteries and personal turmoil.
Field's amazing cast proves its biggest asset. Roy Clarke's script gives each character a chance to shine. Cyril receives the weightiest bits, revealing himself deeply haunted: his attachment to Amos becomes heartbreaking. But his costars fare equally weld: Waldo's grouchy competitiveness, Lisa's reserve, Ralph and Beverly's martial problems. Even Angelique, broadly comic at first, gets sufficient weight to become credible.
Alec Guinness provides a poignant pantomime. He avoids most clichés, providing Amos with life and curiosity despite his condition. Leo McKern gets a meatier role, his customary bluster covering a wounded conscience. Jeanne Moreau provides amusing energy, contrasted by Lauren Bacall's icy dignity. Edward Herrman and Geraldine Chaplin contribute ably in sketchier roles.
A Foreign Field is a remarkable treat. Both witty and heartfelt, it's an overlooked gem that receives my highest recommendation.
