Why this Michael Caine film lingers in my mind

The Great Escaper isn’t Caine’s best movie, but it’s still well worth watching

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“Roll on the release of The Great Escaper!”

That was how I concluded a column saluting English actor Michael Caine’s 90th birthday a couple of years ago. The reference was to a 2023 movie about a Second World War veteran’s newsworthy participation in the 70th anniversary commemoration of D-Day. And with Caine in the title role, it promised to be something worth watching.

But as there’s been no North American theatrical release, it turned out to be a long wait. Finally, PBS showed it several weeks ago as part of its Masterpiece series.

Inspired by a true story from June 2014, The Great Escaper is about Bernie Jordan who, just shy of his 90th birthday, left his care home in Hove on England’s south coast, made his way to the Normandy ferry and sailed across the English Channel to join other veterans in the commemoration the following day. What turned it into a news story was the fact that Bernie hadn’t told the home about his intentions. As far as they knew, he’d gone for his customary walk and never returned.

Unsurprisingly, the police were contacted and a search of the local area ensued. Then, after his whereabouts were established, a narrative developed. Because his care home had prohibited him from going to the commemoration, he’d taken it upon himself to “escape.”

In truth, that wasn’t quite so. After failing to get enrolled on an accredited trip with the Royal British Legion, Bernie just decided to go on his own. And his wife, Rene, was aware of the plan.

Still, the idea of an elderly man defying authority to “escape” to Normandy caught the public’s fancy. So Bernie became a celebrity, reputedly receiving around 2,500 birthday cards when he turned 90 shortly thereafter.

The Great Escaper features Michael Caine as Bernie and Glenda Jackson as Rene. Despite this highly polarized era, their significant political differences didn’t get in the way of their collaboration.

Jackson was a passionate Labour supporter who took a 23-year acting hiatus to pursue a political career. First elected to parliament in 1992 and re-elected continuously until standing down in 2015, she served as a junior minister in Tony Blair’s first government before later becoming one of his severest critics. Caine, on the other hand, has tended to vote Conservative.

And on the most divisive issue in 21st-century British politics, they found themselves on opposite sides. In the 2016 referendum, Jackson supported Remain while Caine was for Brexit. To him, it was a matter of national independence: “I’d rather be a poor master than a rich servant.”

Fortunately, none of that mattered.

The movie frames Bernie’s adventure as a means of confronting personal demons relating to his wartime service. Although he belonged to a generation that didn’t talk about such things, he was nonetheless troubled by memories of D-Day. As a 19-year-old electrician operating the landing craft, he had a bird’s-eye view of the carnage. And he felt personally responsible for the death of one particular comrade he’d reassured that everything would be OK.

The Great Escaper isn’t Caine’s best movie, nor is it Jackson’s. But it’s still well worth watching.

It’s a tale of courage, determination, regret and the retrospection that invariably comes when mortality starts knocking at the door. It’s also a heartwarming love story, underlining the devotion and mutual support of a successful, enduring relationship. One reviewer described it as “flintier than you might think, and very moving.” That captures it nicely.

Both Caine and Jackson give top-drawer performances, the kind of thing that exemplifies screen acting at its best. And the film’s poignant moments are accentuated by the fact that the principal actors, including the excellent John Standing, are all of an age chronologically close to the characters they play.

See it if you have a chance. You’ll feel better for the experience.

The real-life Bernie died in January 2015, seven months after his “escape.” And Rene followed a week later.

Glenda Jackson, too, is no longer with us. She was 87 when she passed away in June 2023, four months before The Great Escaper was released in U.K. cinemas.

However, Michael Caine is still here at 92, albeit afflicted with spinal stenosis that often confines him to a wheelchair. Although noticeably frail, his spirit seems undimmed. He announced his retirement when The Great Escaper was released to generally favourable reviews, choosing to go out on a high. Now, there’s active speculation about another movie. In a sequel to The Last Witch Hunter, he’d reprise the character he played in the 2015 original.

Advanced age and health difficulties notwithstanding, the flame apparently still burns.

Rating: ★★★½ out of five

Troy Media columnist Pat Murphy casts a history buff’s eye at the goings-on in our world. Never cynical – well, perhaps a little bit.