If you're looking for a charmer, this is the film for you. Anyone who makes it to the end without something in their eye deserves a medal.
Reuniting Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson 48 years on from their last screen pairing in The Romantic Englishwoman, The Great Escaper is Jackson's final film - she passed away in June shortly after its completion. In their scenes together and apart, some of the double Oscar winners' best work is in this little gem.
It's inspired by the true story of Bernard 'Bernie' Jordan, the 89-year-old WWII veteran who did an early-morning flit from his retirement home in June 2014 and made his way to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. He became front-page news. You can imagine Caine reading the headlines and saying to himself, "This is a job for me."
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Caine, a Korean War veteran, finds all the stoicism and grief that's needed for the role of Bernie, creating an inspirational portrayal that nudges us all to be grateful and make the most of our time.
That wisdom is echoed in Jackson's performance as Bernie's wife Rene: in poorer health, accepting how things are and yet determined to be there for Bernie when he gets back. Jackson is simply brilliant - like Caine, a lifetime of experience wrapped up in every moment.
From enduring love to ghosts to reconciliation, The Great Escaper fits a lot into 90 minutes and has the nous not to outstay its welcome. Indeed, the wartime flashbacks with Will Fletcher and Laura Marcus as the young Bernie and Rene are so well done that a spin-off would be warranted. Fingers crossed.
But we're here now, and anyone who loves The Straight Story, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris, Living and the finest of romances will be in the best of company again, probably in bits - and all the better for it.
"We have never wasted one second of our time together," Jackson tells Caine. Never a truer word spoken.
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