''The War Bride'' is a 2001

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Lyndon Chubbuck and written by Angela Workman. It is a Canadian–British co-production. The film stars

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera ''Brookside'' ( ...

as Lily and

Julie Cox Julie Cox is an English actress. She played Princess Irulan in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries ''Frank Herbert's Dune'' and its 2003 sequel, ''Frank Herbert's Children of Dune''. She also played The Childlike Empress in ''The Neverending S ...

as Sophie, two young women from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, who marry Canadian soldiers (

Aden Young Aden Young (born 30 November 1971) is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama ''Rectify'', for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor ...

and Benjamin Boyd) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and move to Canada as

war bride War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II. Among the largest and best documented examp ...

s."The War Bride"
British Films Directory. The film's cast also includes

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

Loren Dean Loren Dean (born July 31, 1969) is an American actor. He has appeared on stage and in feature films. Early life Loren Dean Jovicic was born July 31, 1969, in Las Vegas, Nevada. His parents divorced when he was a small child. His mother won custo ...

Caroline Cave Caroline Cave is a Canadians, Canadian film, television and stage actor, known for her roles in the films ''This Beautiful City'', ''One Week (2008 film), One Week'', ''The War Bride'', ''Six Figures (film), Six Figures'' and ''Saw VI'', and the te ...

and

Molly Parker Molly Parker (born 30 June 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She has had roles in independent films as well as television. Her accolades include two Genie Awards, one Canadian Screen Award, one Independent Spirit Awards nomina ...

Plot summary

In 1941, during

, Lily meets Charlie, a Canadian soldier in a bar. They meet during a dance that Lily is attending with her friend Sophie. They quickly fall in love and get married. Lily finds out she's pregnant just as Charlie is being shipped off and has the baby alone in London. She and her friend Sophie, who has also married a French Canadian soldier named Louie (Benjamin Boyd), get shipped off of to Canada under the War Brides program. Lily and her daughter arrive at Charlie's childhood home to find his surly mother, handicapped sister and a home on a remote farm. Charlie's mother and sister Sylvia don't take too kindly to Lily as she appears to be a fast woman from the big city. Lily tries really hard to win over her mother-in-law and sister-in-law with little success. There is also Peggy, who was Charlie's ex-girlfriend who resents Lily's presence as well. Sophie comes to visit Lily and realizes that her living arrangements are less than favorable. She notices the open hostility from Charlie's mother and Sylvia and is the recipient of it as well. Sophie's husband is rich, so she arrives in a hired car wearing a fur coat an obvious sign of her wealth. This does not settle well with Charlie's mom or Sylvia. Sophie offers to take Lily to Montreal so that she can be in a better environment. Lily refuses and says that while she hates being there most days, she will tough it out. Peggy's brother Joe is the object of Sylvia's affection but she is hesitant in her relationship with him because she is self-conscious about her leg brace, which is a result of polio as a child. Joe seems a little enamored with Lily. Lily attempts to show Sylvia how to dance and shows her some dance steps. Lily invites Peggy, Joe and their mother to dinner one night and proceeds to show Joe some dance moves. Sylvia watches on jealously and later on tells Lily that she is a slut. Lily takes the baby and flees in the middle of the night to Joe's house, asking him to take her to the train station. He proceeds to kiss her passionately and Lily responds and then stops him, reminding him that she is married. Unbeknownst to them, Peggy is watching from her bedroom window and sees their passionate embrace. Lily returns home with her daughter. Shortly after, Charlie returns home unannounced from the war. Lily is excited to see him but notices that he is withdrawn and emotionally detached. Sylvia and Joe have started a relationship. Joe, Peggy and their mother come over for dinner and while the two couples are dancing, Peggy reveals that she saw Joe and Lily kissing that night. Charlie lunges at Joe in a fit of rage and asks Lily if she was just using him to get out of London. Sophie comes by and announces that she is going back to London because her husband was killed in the war. Lily asked Charlie how Lou was doing when he first got back and Charlie did not tell her that Lou had been captured and killed during the war. Joe and Sylvia fall in love and embark on a relationship. The movie ends with Lily and Charlie sitting a top the water shed kissing and it is clear that they are feeling the love they felt when they first met.

Cast

as Lily *

as Betty *

as Charlie *

as Joe *

as Sylvia *

as Sophie *

as Peggy * Keeley Gainey as Moira *

Claudie Blakley Claudie Blakley (born 4 January 1974) is an English actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1998, she won the Ian Charleson Award for her performance in ''The Seagull'' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. She is ...

as Rosie *

Benjamin Boyd Benjamin Boyd (21 August 180115 October 1851) was a Scottish entrepreneur who became a major shipowner, banker, grazier, politician and slaver, exploiting South Sea Islander labour in the British colony of New South Wales. Boyd became one ...

as Louie (as Ben Weinberger) * Dorothy A. Haug as Mrs. Clarke * Petina Hapgood as Sal *

Lynda Boyd Lynda Boyd (born January 28, 1965) is a Canadian actress, singer, dancer, musician, and writer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Final Destination 2'' (2003), ''An Unfinished Life'' (2005), ''She's the Man'' (2006), and ''O ...

as Dee Dee

Awards

The film garnered seven

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nominations at the 22nd Genie Awards: *

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...

(Friel) * Best Supporting Actor (Dean) * Best Supporting Actress (Fricker, Parker) * Art Direction/Production Design ( Ken Rempel) *

Costume Design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

(

Howard Burden Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probab ...

) It won the awards for Art Direction/Production Design and Costume Design."Inuit film earns top honours at Genie Awards".

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, February 8, 2002.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:War Bride, The 2001 films British war drama films Canadian war drama films English-language Canadian films Canadian World War II films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films 2000s British films British World War II films