Fire Over England: Sometimes black and white is just gray

If you have a thing for black-and-white historical dramas where everyone talks like they’re reading a particularly stern letter, you might find something to like here. If you prefer your history movies to have, say, a pulse, you’ll probably find this a bit of a slog. It’s definitely not for the casual viewer who wants quick action, but if you’re a fan of watching Olivier when he was young and full of that specific, intense energy, it’s worth a look.

The movie is mostly about the Spanish Armada, but honestly, it’s mostly about people standing in rooms. There are a lot of rooms. And a lot of candles. At one point, I started counting how many times someone adjusted their collar, but I lost track somewhere around the twenty-minute mark.

Laurence Olivier is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. You can tell he’s trying to keep the momentum going, even when the script feels like it’s stuck in mud. He’s got this way of looking at Vivien Leigh that feels almost too real, which makes sense given their history, but it also makes the rest of the movie feel like a weirdly private stage play.

Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth is… well, she’s very Queen-y. She has this way of commanding a room that makes you wonder if she actually thought she was in charge of the set, too. Some of the speeches go on forever. You know the kind—the ones where the character has to explain the entire political situation of Europe while staring intensely at a map.

I couldn't help but think about how much more dynamic a movie like Broadway Bill feels compared to this. Even with the stakes being lower, at least the characters were moving around. Here, it’s all about the stiff upper lip and the impending doom of a fleet that we barely get to see.

There is a scene near the end involving the ships that is clearly using every bit of the studio’s budget. It looks a bit like a model boat collection in a bathtub, but you have to admire the effort. They really wanted that fire to look impressive.

It feels very much like a product of its time. It’s polite, it’s grand, and it’s a little bit boring. Sometimes the silence in the scenes is so heavy you can hear the film grain humming. 🎞️

If you’re going to watch it, maybe don't expect a history lesson. Just enjoy the costumes. Those ruffs look incredibly uncomfortable. I don't know how they didn't all just fall asleep standing up.