The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is currently streaming on Netflix. Yes, the title is obnoxiously long. It’s a historical drama and better than the book it’s based on in my opinion. The cast is fantastic. It’s also beautiful to look at. It’s a nice little flick to spend an afternoon watching.
The film, as I mentioned, is based off of a book with the same name. I was curious as to how the adaptation would work as the book is told entirely through letters. Juliet Ashton is an author who travels to Guernsey after being hired by the times to write an article about the Nazi occupation in Guernsey.
Lily James stars as Juliet. James is fantastic as our protagonist bringing a certain charm to the role. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was started by a few of the islanders as a way to cope with the occupation. While interviewing the members, Juliet befriends Eben (Tom Courtenay) a grandfather who was separated from his grandson during the occupation and Isola (Katherine Parkinson) an eccentric bootlegger.
The Society also includes Amelia (Penelope Wilton) who lost her daughter and unborn grandchild during the occupation and Elizabeth (Jessica Brown Findlay) who was arrested during the occupation by the Nazis and sent away leaving behind her own daughter. Wilton delivers a strong performance as a grieving woman who is also weary of allowing strangers into the society. Sidney (Matthew Goode) is Juliet’s publisher who just wants Juliet to write the article and return home so that she can finish her book tour.
Sidney is also Juliet’s closest friend, but he has a difficult time understanding why Juliet is becoming so enamored with Guernsey and the members of its society. The person who initiated the correspondence with Juliet was Dawsey (Michiel Huisman). Dawsey is a pig farmer who was left to raise Elizabeth’s daughter after her arrest. It’s not hard to figure out that he and Juliet will fall in love, but when they meet she is engaged to Mark (Glen Powell).
There Are a few letters written at the start of the film, but of course this isn’t the way the entire film is told. The majority of the film is spent trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Elizabeth. The love triangle is also major plot point of course, but that is the least interesting aspect of this film. Although, I do appreciate that Mark was more important in the film than he was in the books. Film Mark solves the mystery of what happened to Elizabeth and is more likable than his book counterpart.
The film can be predictable. Yes, Juliet ends up with Dawsey instead of Mark. Even so, it’s an enjoyable film. It’s sweet and you root for the members of the society in every way.
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