One Life (2024) Review

I managed to see this film last week and I am finally getting around to review One Life. It is getting around award season which means films like this are released more frequently and this is the one I am starting with. The premise of the film is based on the true story of Nicholas Winton who during WW2 managed to save a large amount of children from hostile environments. 

Main Character

Sir Anthony Hopkins plays the older version of Winton and as usual he is fantastic. He just has such an aura towards him and Hopkins nails the trauma that this man has been through, the film focuses on him more then I thought it was going to and that definitely helps the film because of the overall quality of his performance. 

Johnny Flynn plays the younger version of Winton and is also very good in his role. It is interesting seeing him at work during the awful conditions of a Nazi occupation and how he was convinced that he could help people without looking for any praise himself. The two actors fit the role really well and I actually felt like it was the same person in both parts of the film. 

Supporting Characters

This film has some strong actors in it. Lena Olin plays Winton's wife and she is a good support system for him during the hard times that he goes through. The scenes between her and Hopkins are well realised and they just have good chemistry too. 

Helena Bonham Carter plays Winton's mother in the flashback scenes and she is pretty good too and I think that is down to the strength of her as a performer, She worked well with Flynn and they did some really good work. 

The issue here is that this film doesn't care much about the supporting cast of this film, it is all about Nicholas Winton. To clarify that isn't a bad thing, but it is hard to really care about any of the other people in the film when the film doesn't exactly give them any time. Take Jonathan Pryce, a great actor who only has one scene in the film, it just feels like there isn't much depth there. 

Story

The story works well enough. The story of Nicholas Winton is realised incredibly well in this film, it is an emotional story that makes you care about this man and the hopes and dreams that he had to help other people. The fact that he is a real person and a lot of this film is based on truth tells you how incredible it can be. It is just the execution of some of the elements that don't quite work, for example the film maybe doesn't fully show the horrors of war and kind of falls a little flat in that way. Also as I mentioned above, the other characters in this film aren't really given much to work with or really make you fully care. 

Script

The film is well written. I really ended up caring about the overall story and wanted to learn more about the heroic acts of Nicholas Winton. It can be pretty emotional and nails that as it gets towards the end of the film. It has its moments of charm too and I think it is pretty well done here. 

Style

The film is well made and it looks good, it nails both time periods pretty well and does have some atmosphere. It uses camera techniques to convey emotion well and to make you care about the serious content. But the film has a slight pacing issue, especially in how it balances the flashbacks and the main story. It is a bit jarring at times and like there isn't a complete connection between the two especially with the flashbacks being stopped pretty abruptly. 

Overall

Overall, One Life is a good film behind an amazing story and man. If you have any interest in the subject and the feel of the film then I would say it is worth a watch for sure, but I do wonder in other circumstances this film could have been even better. 

Rating - 7/10