Remembrance (1982) – Film Review

Director: Colin Gregg
Cast: Roger Adamson, John Altman, Gary Oldman
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

Great actors have to start somewhere – even Gary Oldman.

The Oscar-winning star is best known for roles in such movies as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, JFK, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the Harry Potter film series, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Darkest Hour, as well as, more recently, the TV series Dark Horses.

His screen debut was, however, rather more humble. It came way back in November 1982 in Remembrance, one of the first films made by Channel 4 – it aired just eight days after the station itself was born (close to Remembrance Sunday), and five months after a brief cinema run.

“Vicious beating”

Oldman is, in fact, barely in the drama and only utters a handful of intelligible lines. Having said that, a fair bit of what happens is down to his character, Daniel. He appears early on, as drunk as someone can be without completely collapsing. He’s on a bender in Plymouth, alongside a group of navy ratings celebrating their last night on shore before heading off on a six-month tour of duty.

Everyone assumes he’s one of them, but when he’s later kicked out of a club and given a vicious beating by an over-zealous bouncer, it becomes clear he isn’t – so, who is he?

The plot then features a series of interwoven stories, including that of a rating who becomes obsessed with discovering who Daniel was, due to the fact he spent much of the previous evening together.

Other tales feature a married sailor whose wife is heavily pregnant, another who has stolen a comrade’s girlfriend and one whose estranged mother’s flash lover owns the club where Daniel was beaten.

The tale is given added poignancy when you realise it was in production at a time when Britain was involved in the Falklands war, a conflict in which the Navy played a major role.

“A little uneven”

Some of the acting is a little uneven, but Remembrance is nevertheless a fascinating glimpse at a lifestyle most of us probably know nothing about.

Although much of the current publicity surrounding the production focuses on Oldman’s debut, the film features lots of very familiar faces, including those of Timothy Spall, John ‘Nasty Nick Cotton’ Altman, Kenneth Griffith and Jesse Birdsall.

Among the special features are interviews with both Oldman and Altman, who discuss their experiences of making the film, while director Colin Gregg offers insights into its origins, casting and other aspects of production.

As is often the case with BFI releases, there are also shorts from the archive with a link to the main feature’s subject matter, in this case a Royal Navy recruitment advert and a look at the lives of ratings aboard HMS Raleigh. They brought back to mind a film about the Ark Royal that always used to be shown ahead of the main movie at my local cinema back in the day – here’s hoping that’s dusted down for a future release.

But for now, I’ll content myself with watching this gritty tale, which is a far cry from the 1950s flag-waving Navy-based war movies with which we’re more accustomed. Don’t expect hearts and flowers, but a low blow to the guts instead.