Regeneration(sometimes referred to asBehind The Lines) did little box office on its release in 1997, but hindsight shows it to have beenan underrated, accomplished portrayal of the horrors of the First World War. It is all the more surprising because — unlike, say,Sam Mendes’1917, which takes place in the battle zone, orEdward Berger’sAll Quiet On The Western Front, which is mostly set in the trenches —Regenerationshows life at the front in only the briefest of snapshots. Its story is less about the realities of trench warfare; like the 1991 novel on which it is based,it is concerned with what happens to the soldiers afterward, and how they deal with the trauma of combat. Here’s why it is worth a watch.
Jonathan Pryce Is Excellent As A Pioneering Doctor
Regenerationtells the story of two of the war’s most famous poets,Siegfried Sassoon, andWilfred Owen, both of whom find themselves at a psychiatric facility in Scotland. While Owen is shell-shocked, Sassoon was sent there to take him out of the public eye after protesting against the morality of the war.James Wilby(Gosford Park,The Sense of An Ending) does good work as Sassoon, and character actorStuart Bunceis excellent as the quiet, meditative Owen; whileThe Crown’sJonny Lee Miller, fresh from success inDanny Boyle’sTrainspotting, impresses as Billy Prior, a junior officer sent to the hospital suffering from amnesia and mutism.
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But the real star is Oscar nomineeJonathan Pryceas CaptainWilliam Rivers, the real-life doctor whose therapeutic approach to treatment offered a new way forward for the traumatized soldiers. In the mid-90s, Pryce was enjoying a moment, carrying off the Best Actor award at Cannes in 1995 for his work oppositeEmma ThompsoninCarrington; within weeks ofRegeneration’s release, he would be seen asthe slimy media mogul CarveralongsidePierce BrosnanandMichelle Yeohin the Bond filmTomorrow Never Dies. His understated performance as Rivers contrasts with Wilby’s more energetic portrayal of Sassoon.
John Neville Gets One Scene – But It’s A Must-Watch
The film’s other major star isJohn Neville. An acclaimed Shakespearean stage actor first and foremost, Neville enjoyed many successes on screen after moving from Great Britain to Canada in the early 1970s, playing the lead inTerry Gilliam’s Oscar-nominatedThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and bagging a recurring role inThe X-Files. Always imposing as a villain – his turn as an aristocratic drug addict in the BBC’s excellent comedy dramaStarkis a much-neglected career highlight –Neville drew on his experience in Machiavellian roles for his work asLewis Yealland, a Canadian doctor who in real life treated shell-shocked soldiers with electric shocks. Yealland’s legacy remains controversial, and inRegeneration, he is portrayed as a well-meaning but wrong-headed doctor who uses a mixture of coercion and paternalism to “cure” shell-shocked soldiers of their inability to speak.
The key scene, which throws Yealland’s harsh treatment and Rivers’ gentler methods into sharp relief, shows Rivers attending a treatment session. A shell-shocked soldier – played with great sympathy byKevin McKidd(Kingdom of Heaven,Hannibal Rising) in only his third screen role – is repeatedly electrocuted on his tongue by Yealland, whose combination of threats and cajolery get the soldier speaking again, but do little toaddress the psychological trauma that months in the trenches have wrought.Pryce (and the audience) flinches as the soldier, strapped into a chair, writhes in pain, powerless to do anything about it but talk.
Tasteful Directing By Gillies MacKinnon Adds Value
Scottish directorGillies MacKinnonmay not be a household name in Hollywood. However, a long and distinguished career helming films made by the BBC and various independent companies in the UK and Ireland, such as 2021’sThe Last Bus,made him an excellent choice forRegeneration. The abbreviated trench scenes are taut, but MacKinnon is at his best when filming the counseling scenes between Prior and Rivers; Miller shines as the closed, defensive soldier trying to bat away Pryce’s careful questions.
Slow dissolves between dream imagery and the occasional flashbacks to the front, a delicate color palette, and intelligent use of music – as in the scene where Billy’s love interest Sarah (Tanya Allen) walks smiling from a ward full of happy, recovering soldiers to another room filled with hideously disfigured burn patients – speaks to an excellent feel forAllan Scott’s adaptation of novelistPat Barker’s source material. A thoughtful essay on the tragedy of war as well as the healing power of listening,Regenerationis one First World War film that should get more recognition.
Regenerationis available to stream on Prime in the U.S.
Watch on Prime
Regeneration
