The Great Escaper: Oliver Parker’s film tells the story of a World War II veteran who decides to go to the 70th Anniversary of D-Day; it’s not much of an escape, or of an adventure either, particularly as the protagonist is a man still in full control of his mental abilities. These low stakes put the focus instead on the traumas he carries, as many veterans would, and in the sweet love story between him and his long-time wife. It helps immensely that the couple is played by Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson; they are both excellent, him as the veteran with a trauma and a clear intent, her as his wife, herself a lively and fragile woman. John Standing plays another veteran the protagonist meets on his trip, who has another form of heartbreaking trauma. Aesthetically, the film is simple, functional but unremarkable.