'The Great Escaper' is a moving story about remembrance featuring the late Glenda Jackson

The last movie of the precocious Glenda Jackson and, if helium remains existent to his word, of Michael Caine, “The Great Escaper” has made its mode to America 2 years aft its U.K. release. Premiering Sunday nether the umbrella of the PBS bid “Masterpiece Theatre,” the movie tells the true-life communicative of Bernie Jordan, who, astatine 89, acceptable disconnected unaccompanied and unannounced from an English status location to be celebrations marking the 70th day of D-Day successful Normandy, France. (This lawsuit besides inspired a Pierce Brosnan film, “The Last Rifleman,” which came retired astir the aforesaid time.) Love and clip and work are its themes. Written by William Ivory and directed by Oliver Parker, it’s a elemental story, simply told — sweet, but not saccharine, and moving adjacent erstwhile you cognize what’s coming.

Bernie (Caine) lives with his wife, Rene (Jackson), successful a attraction location by the oversea successful the municipality of Hove. She needs much aesculapian attraction than he, but some person their wits astir them. Having missed securing a spot among the groups traveling to Normandy, Bernie, a Royal Navy veteran, with Rene’s encouragement, decides to spell it alone. Though helium uses a walker and tin look bushed oregon abstracted astatine times — helium has overmuch connected his mind, and a circumstantial ngo to fulfill — the travel itself is not particularly hard connected him. It becomes each the easier erstwhile helium meets, connected the ferry crossed the English Channel, Arthur Howard-Johnson (John Standing, precise fine), an RAF seasoned who offers him a spot with his radical and a furniture successful his edifice room. As the movie goes on, helium becomes much and much focused, increasing alert and lively and taking complaint of Arthur, who had earlier taken complaint of him. Each, it volition transpire, carries a load of guilt dating from the invasion.

Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson successful “The Great Escaper.”

(Rob Youngson / Masterpiece, Pathé, BBC Films)

Back successful Hove, the staff, represented by adjutant Adele (Danielle Vitalis) and manager Judith (Jackie Clune), is not instantly alert of Bernie’s lack — he’s allowed to travel and spell — and Rene, who has a inclination to obstruction with them anyway, is keeping quiescent successful bid to springiness him clip to get away. When they larn he’s missing, a hunt begins; eventually, Rene lets the information slip, the exploit hits the property and Bernie, unaware of immoderate of this, is fixed the nickname “The Great Escaper.” He’ll instrumentality location an annoyed celebrity.

Flashbacks, with Will Fletcher arsenic young Bernie and Laura Marcus arsenic young Rene, callback the couple’s wartime gathering and Bernie’s interactions with a young worker connected D-Day. Integrated arsenic memories, they enrich the contiguous enactment without overexplaining it.

Jackson and Caine, you whitethorn cognize oregon should learn, were icons of British thespian glamour successful the 1960s and ’70s, she successful “Marat/Sade,” “Women successful Love” and “Elizabeth R,” helium successful “Alfie” and the Harry Palmer films (“The Ipcress File,” et al.); successful 1975, they starred unneurotic successful Joseph Losey’s “The Romantic Englishwoman,” co-written by Tom Stoppard. Always politically active, Jackson took disconnected 23 years from acting, from 1992 to 2015, to service arsenic a subordinate of Parliament, and returned to play “King Lear” successful London and connected Broadway and triumph a Tony for a revival of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” Caine, notwithstanding immoderate dilatory times, made movies each along, each sorts of them, playing Scrooge successful “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” Mike Myers’ begetter successful “Austin Powers successful Goldmember” and Alfred successful the Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy and parts successful 5 different Nolan films. Watching “The Great Escaper,” you’re seeing history.

Neither has mislaid a step. (I find it pleasant to retrieve that, nevertheless frail oregon confused an older quality whitethorn be, the idiosyncratic playing them is doing a occupation that requires spot and thought.) Given some the eminence of the actors and their property — Caine was 90 erstwhile “The Great Escaper” premiered, portion Jackson, 87, died soon earlier — it’s hard not to ticker with a treble consciousness of the players and the parts. But alternatively than a distraction, it redoubles the impact. Jackson and Caine deterioration their years proudly; there’s nary vanity successful their show oregon their appearance. The couple’s eventual reunion is heavy and existent and, similar their full relationship, gorgeously ordinary.