Film Review – The Choral

Nicholas Hytner hasn’t made a film in a decade, last seen on screens with “The Lady in the Van.” He’s not a director who works very often, and received some acclaim in the past, guiding such pictures as “The Madness of King George” and 2006’s “The History Boys.” “The Choral” is scripted by Alan Bennett, a longtime Hytner collaborator, and the duo concoct an extremely British endeavor about the grip of anxiety during World War I, and the soulful release of art during a troubling time. There are no surprises found in the offering, which plays like a mid-‘90s art-house release, providing a sense of comfort, musical performance, and wartime conflicts to best reach its target audience. Despite a general lack of electricity, “The Choral” is well-made and compellingly acted, periodically dipping into interesting areas of longing and loss while it tries to deliver reliable storytelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com