Sword of Honour

Is there any reasonable way to approach modern war except as satire? This smart, luscious adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's semiautobiographical story of the trials of one honest, moral man amidst the SNAFU milieu of Britain's World War II military—made for British TV in 2001 by director Bill Anderson from a script by novelist William Boyd—serves up a wondrous mix of sly humor, subtle performances, and intelligent, frustrated cynicism over the fact that cherished concepts such as honor and loyalty tend to get more lip service than actual respect. Wealthy but a bit long in the tooth for the army, 35-year-old Guy Crouchback (Daniel Craig, the new James Bond), who is desperate to assert his sense of ethics, decides to join the fight against the Nazis and finally finds a spot in an elite unit full of men who are, to put it charitably, wack jobs. Just as he's heading off to war, Guy's bombshell ex-wife (Megan Dodds), who collects and discards husbands for fun, reenters his life, a walking mockery of his own morality. Craig is fantastic as that most intriguing of characters: the odd man out who's convinced himself—and convinces us—that he is the one sane man in a crazy world. DVD extras include a Waugh biography and cast filmographies. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)