Behind The Lines

In WWI Scotland, recognized authority Dr. William Rivers (Jonathan Pryce) presides over Craiglockart, a veteran's hospital for post-traumatic stress disorders. When a highly decorated officer (James Wilby) unexpectedly publishes an anti-war pamphlet, a tract that has a seriously demoralizing effect on his men, his commanding officers shuffle him off to Craiglockart with the hope that Dr. Rivers can "bring him around." But this new charge only underlines what Dr. Rivers has already come to realize, that to protest the war is not a symptom of madness, but rather the surest sign of reason. This top-flight ensemble drama, with a particularly strong turn by Pryce, whose confidence in himself and his professional mission deteriorates in proportion to the improving mental well-being of his patients, the film's impact is somewhat blunted by its constant shifting of focus (beside Wilby's character, the story follows the plights of several other patients). Still, those looking for an impeccably crafted adult drama--and one that takes a harrowing look at the atrocities inflicted and suffered during the Great War--will not be disappointed. Recommended. [NOTE: Behind The Lines had a brief 1998 theatrical run under the title Regeneration.] (S. C. Sickles)