The thought of your partner being away serving the country with no guarantee of ever returning must be heartbreaking for the wives of military men. Directed by Peter Cattaneo, the comedy-drama film titled Military Wives was released on 6 March 2020 with a run-time of 112 minutes.
Produced by Ben Pugh and Rory Aitken, the film focuses on a group of military wives banding together to form a choir group as they deal with the absence of their better halves as their partners are deployed in Afghanistan.
The film took inspiration from the real-life event of a group of misfit women banding together to form a choir group. Written by Rachel Tunnard and Rosanne Flynn, the film stars Kristin Scott playing the role of Kate, Sharon Horgan playing the role of Lisa, Jason Flemyng playing the role of Crooks, Greg Wise playing the role of Richard, Emma Lowndes playing the role of Annie, Gaby French playing the role of Jess.
The film received immense love from the public for hitting all the right notes. Even though the film had few surprising elements, it didn’t fail to capture the audience’s heart. The viewers felt Military Wives was similar in a way as an individual has memories of their favorite song.
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Military Wives Premise
The film focuses on women whose partners are away from home serving in Afghanistan coming together to form a choir which quickly leads them to be at the center of attention from the media. The group of women are strikingly different from each other and belong to different classes of society who band together to pass the time as their husbands serve the country in Afghanistan.
The movie begins with Kare entering the military base and going to a grocery shop owned by Lisa. Kate congratulates Sharon for her husband’s promotion while telling her that planning is the key. The military wives married to men at higher levels have to find things for the other military wives to bond over. Kate is the colonel’s wife who holds a superior position among the wives and is responsible for arranging activities for the wives while their husbands are away serving in Afghanistan.
Lisa gets roped in alongside Kate to arrange for activities for the wives after her husband is promoted. As the film moves forward, Kate and her husband are discussing her plans and the ways she will deal with Sharon, as she has a strikingly different personality. The next day the partners of these military wives are deployed for their service. Lisa isn’t happy with her husband’s deployment, and the two bicker together as Sharon’s husband tries to calm her down.
Sharon is frustrated as she has to live as a single mother every time her husband is deployed. Meanwhile, Kate bids goodbye to her husband as he gets ready to leave for his deployment. After their husbands leave for their services, Lisa and Kate meet together as they together meet the higher officials of the military to discuss the social activities for the wives. Kate indirectly taunts Lisa for her ideas of entertainment which involve potluck parties.
The next day during a potluck organized by Lisa, Kate, and Lisa are passive-aggressive towards each other because Kate wants a system for fun while Lisa just wants the wives to have fun. They ask the other wives for ideas, and they together come up with several club ideas, including the idea of a choir. In the end, the wives decide to go with the knitting club, but it doesn’t help them as they still have their respective husbands on their minds. Kate doesn’t join the knitting club as she spends the night watching television and drinking wine. Kate visits Lisa’s home the next day, where Lisa’s daughter informs Kate about the knitting club disbanding.
The next day Kate determines the vocal ranges of the military wives, and Kate suggests that the group sings together, and the moment one of them can’t sing, they should sit down. As the movie continues, Lisa and Kate have several disagreements regarding the way the choir should work and learn their songs. Lisa appears desperate to have some authority over Kate’s way of the management of the wives in most of the film, to the point she becomes irritating.
Overall throughout the film, Kate has a calm and logical personality, while Lisa is irrational and wants everything to be under her control, including her daughter. The film ends with the women performing at the Royal Albert Hall as Kate and Lisa keep their differences aside to enjoy the night together. Their respective partners have also made a return from their deployment in Afghanistan. The wives continue to practice and enjoy their time in the choir.
Military Wives Filming Locations
Military Wives was filmed mostly in the hometown of the original military wives. The prime location for the filming of Military Wives was North Yorkshire.
1. Yorkshire
Yorkshire, a historic county located in Northern England, is the largest county by area in the United Kingdom and was used by the production crew of Military Wives to film parts of the film. Yorkshire and the area surrounding Yorkshire were used by the Military Wives crew as the prime location for the filming. The Royal Albert Hall, located in Kensington, London, was used by the crew to film the final scenes of Military Wives. The scene where the military wives’ choir sings together at the Festival of Remembrance was filmed in this location.
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