DVD/150: REGENERATION (Gillies MacKinnon, 1997)

1n 1917, The Times printed a letter from decorated soldier / poet Siegfried Sassoon opposing the continuation of WWI by those who could end it; a war of defence was now one of aggression.  He was sent to Edinburgh's Craiglockhart Hospital to be treated by psychiatrist William Rivers; the inference being he was mentally-ill.  This event inspired Pat Barker's 1991 novel REGENERATION and this film adaptation.

The subdued film highlights the emotional conflict felt by both men: Rivers is a caring man healing the shattered psyches of his patients but knows that it will mean they are returned to war, while Sassoon wants to return to his platoon but knows to do so will be to continue the madness.

Sassoon meets fellow soldier / poet Wilfred Owen who he pursuades to start writing about his war experiences, also included is Barker's fictional character Billy Prior who openly challenges Rivers' probing analysis.

Shelf or charity shop?  It will stay in DVD limbo eg. in a plastic storage box but a keeper for the performances of Jonny Lee Miller as Billy Prior, Stuart Bunce as a warmly sympathetic Wilfred Owen (a performance which should have led to greater fame) and, in particular, Jonathan Pryce's heartfelt performance as Dr William Rivers.