geofflovelock Although obviously a work of fiction the film does reinforce some of the myths about work as land girls: all romance and very little hard work. The attitudes of the characters are really out of place in the 1940s England and would be more at home a generation later. Entertaining, but hardly educational as some have suggested.

bob the moo Stella (Catherine McCormack), Prue (Anna Friel) and Ag (Rachel Weisz) play three "land girls", volunteers to carry on the agricultural work of the men. On the farm they find love, conflict, friendship and cows. The film is more of a relationship drama of those left behind than an account of the second world war.That said it is an interesting piece - not only is it different to have a WW2 film from a British point-of-view but also from a woman's point of view. It is interesting to see how those left behind acted with their lives and their war efforts - how close to the truth this account is, anyone's guess, it's a bit unrealistic because so many girl's experiences are crammed into the story of these three. The story is good regardless with the tangled relationships creating the glut of the plot, however the many tangled love stories do get a bit much at times but the themes of love, loss and British spirit during wartime tend to make up for it.The performance from the lead trio are mixed, Weisz is a bit stereotyped as an upper-class woman ("rotter", "jolly good" etc) but gets better as her character develops. Friel is good as Prue who starts as the roughest of the group but is touched by the events in her life. McCormack (Stella) is meant to be the core of the story with her interactions with the farmers, especially the son Joe (Steven Mackintosh), but she plays it a little over earnest for my liking. Mackintosh has the most complex role and carries it off very well with the best performance in the film.The film's conclusion is a mix of neat, tidy endings and some more emotional moments that more realistically depict the damage that the conflict caused on the people left behind.Overall the film is not amazing but is an interesting account of WW2 from a different point of view, some of the events are a little stereotyped and lack a realistic feel but generally the film carries the emotions that many will have experienced at the time.

I M Buggy I found the movie to be a well-acted warm, personal story of three women and the English farming family that they work for as members of the Ladies' Land Army during World War II. However, at times it makes chronological leaps without much warning and it may take a few minutes to figure out exactly what has happened and what the new season is or how much time has elapsed.It was a very interesting insight into a period of England and the life-circumstances of the country in early World War II. At times though, I had a difficult time distinguishing the subtle English accents and found myself backing up to attempt to re-hear what had been said. Sometimes I still couldn't make sense of the accent, and I'm not referring to the usual colloquial British terms that are at times foreign to Americans, although the movie is full of those as well, which adds a very quaint touch.All in all, it was a sort of feel-good movie that possibly could have had a little more punch in the ending. I was left with the feeling that it was a nice experience emotionally and educationally, but which falls a bit short of some movies of the genre, more so probably because of the production.

Doctor_Bombay I like World War II dramas particularly the ones that delve into the more obscure aspects. Many interesting character dramas have evolved, notably, Schindler's List, Memphis Belle, The Americanization of Emily, Tuskeegee Airmen, and Hiroshima. Even the bio pics: Patton, Truman, Eisenhower all provided interesting perspective for me, where I had none before.The idea that England had a Woman's Land Army in WWII, whereby women went to take over farm chores as the men have gone off to war, sounds interesting. Women of all shapes and sizes, and backgrounds banding together for the common good, yep, it definitely has possibilities.Now add Catherine McCormack in the lead, a woman who has the opportunity over the next few years to surpass Michelle Pfeiffer, as the beautiful woman who CAN act, throw in stunning period locations and costumes, and Land Girls should not fail.But fail it does.The story of these three women (McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel) is limp and un-centered, where, by comparison, The Tuskeegee Airmen is driving and informative.Pass on this mess, and if you want to see more of Catherine McCormack (aside from Braveheart) choose Dangerous Beauty instead.