Regeneration

Gilles Mackinnon, UK 1997, 105 mins

In 1917 Craiglockhart Hospital provides a haven where psyches ripped apart by the devastation of the First World War are nurtured back to wholeness under the watchful eye of Dr William Rivers. Violent nightmares are a matter of course here. One patient is unable to keep his food down, recounting the memory of having his face embedded in the dismembered body of a comrade following shelling. Billy Prior, meanwhile, another victim of shellshock, is initially mute, unable to admit the root of his trauma, communicating with Rivers in brief notes.

Siegfried Sassoon arrives on the scene, labelled "unstable" because of an anti-war communication with the British Government, despite upper class credentials and an exemplary military record.

Mentally fit and conveniently misplaced at Craiglockhart Sassoon refuses to return to the futility of battle. Rivers sympathises with Sassoon's feelings but continues to highlight the plight of other comrades who are also unwilling participants in the war.

Wilfred Owen is a sensitive, spiritual character also scarred by the ravages of war who, with Sassoon's encouragement, begins to find an outlet for his grief and disillusionment in poetry. A firm friendship, with homosocial undertones steadily develops.

Prior meanwhile, is constantly haunted by, and consumed by shame at apparently "crumbling" under the burden of command. Gradually he finds redemption through a relationship with local girl Sarah, who is devoted to him despite his status as a mental patient, fully aware that the scars of war are not always visible.

This screen adaptation of Pat Barker's book has at times been too careful to move away from some of the more controversial features addressed in the novel. Prior's bisexuality in the book for instance has been conveniently neutralised into heterosexuality. The opening battlefield panorama is a chilling evocation of the destruction and desolation of trench warfare, but for the most part, visual impact is minimal with the focus on dialogue occasionally interspersed with snapshots of war.

Mackinnon's adaptation manages to convey war through the eyes of its victims. The thoughtful, nurturing screen presence of Jonathan Pryce is its most redeeming feature, alongside these personal commentaries.

Fiona Clague
EUFS Programme 1998-99