In the later half of 1944. A four man team of British Commandos are seconded for a secret snatch 'n' grab mission to recover detailed military maps being held by the Germans. Tagging alongside the team is American Captain Jackson (played by Julian Ovenden).
And that my friends and Allies is all the story I shall deliver at this point. I discovered the storyline firsthand, and I 100% recommend you also do the same.
Allies is Directed by Dominic Burns, a filmmaker whose career I have followed pretty closely for the past few years. One thing I love about the films that Dominic Burns gets involved in is that they are all different. From the horror film 'Cut', to the comedy film 'How To Stop Being A Loser' through the science fiction film 'UFO' (also known as Alien Uprising) , and including the thriller films Airborne ,
Dominic never seems to tackle the same genre twice and I can't help wondering if there is a musical or an animated film on the horizon at some point waiting to appear on his filmography.
Part way through the viewing of the film, I realised that whilst I have always figured Dominic tackles different genres each and every time. I realised that they all had one thing in common. People..If you strip back the covers on all the films Dominic has done to the bare minimum, you'll see that his films are about people, and the relationships they have with each other.
For all the fantastic set pieces (and they are most certainly fantastic) in Allies, the gunbattles, the planes and explosions. For me the heart of Allies is just that. Allies. Its about the comoradery , that band of brothers feeling that a lot of military films convey, But a lot don't. Allies certainly does give you that feeling of one man willing to take a bullet for the man next to him.
So whilst you might think you have seen all that the 'men on a mission' films can offer. You really haven't. Allies is fantastic in so many ways. It is beautiful to look at, Praise needs to be given to both the director and also his camera crew. Its outstanding and epic to watch and hear as the story unfolds from start fo finish. As much as I love the work of Dominic Burns. If you sit down and watch each of his films in the order they were released. You'll see the quality of the films ramp up with each new project. That my friends is a filmmaker who knows what he is doing but still learning more and more with each new film. But more than the learning new things, he is using those new lessons to make his next film better than the last (and I love the last film) and surround himself with the best team out there (such as Jake 'Doghouse' West, James 'Tower Block' Nunn, Poppy Lloyd -the highest regarded casting agent out there) and many more)
It would be so easy to write a review (although is it a review if I am not delving into too many plot details) where I go through a list of the things I loved about it Acting:CHECK, Directing:CHECK, Editing:CHECK and so on. Thats the easy way out.
Kudos do go to all the cast though, what a wonderful mix of actors (and actresses) from very different styles of projects. Whether its Leon Vickers (Doctor Who), Edmund Kingsley (The Borgias, and the up and coming Artificial Horizon), Chris Reilly (Game Of Thrones, Everest) or Matt Willis (McBusted) who make up the core group of the cast as the Allies themselves (Matt Willis is wonderful as sniper Billy) The whole cast are excellent actually. Upon looking at the filmographies of the cast. I was stunned to learn that Chris Reillys first credit was in 2010. The guy has the acting chops that display a lifetime of excellence and I cant wait to follow this guys career from project to project as well as the other cast members, some of whos work I was familiary with before Allies, some I wasn't.
But lets get back to the film. In fact lets get back to the sound. My god, whoever did the sound mix on Allies. Thank you, thank you and thank you. I haven't seen a film with this good a soundmix for a long time. From the ambient noise of forests, to the tank blasting craziness of war accompanied by one of the most beautiful film scores I have heard this year.(the score is composed and conducted by Phillippe Jakko), Allies is the sort of film that makes you want to rush out and get a huge soundbar or a 7.1 surround system or whatever number they are up to now. Allies is the sort of film that begs to be watched on a huge screen with the most perfect sound set up) I aim to get one of those soon and Allies will be a first watch on it.With the fact that I have seen over 250 films this year. One thing is written in stone. Dominic Burns has created yet another film thats blown my socks (and ears) off.
Thank you, thank you oh and thank you to all the cast and crew who put sweat and perhaps tears into this film. For me as a film fan. You hard work has been worth it. Now lets get others watching the film.
