Review of 21 Days (1940) by Teremoana L — 13 Apr 2013

A very minor film by British studio director Basil Dean most notable for its pairing of acting couple powerhouse Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, who do their best with the weak script they're given.

There's a good short film in here somewhere, but even at its modest runtime of about seventy-five minutes this movie moves along at a glacial pace. It's main issue is that it begins as dramatically as it ever reaches, and so after the initial shock of the murder and Olivier's implication in it, there is never any real gripping drama left in the story.

Dean's directorial style is pretty good if very restrained, and after awhile the lack of visual energy combined with the story's stalls stop the film almost completely. Disappointingly, this script was written by Graham Greene, who is usually quite good at penning these kinds of murder mysteries.

Even Leigh's typically crackling acting isn't enough to save this one from sinking.