Dame Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent (Paddington), and Eddie Izzard (Victoria & Abdul) are all set to star in a new film, but don’t expect a feel-good movie.
It’d be understandable if you did, given Jim’s form as Professor Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter films, and Dame Judi’s recent slew of historical and comedy dramas — not to mention her Victoria & Abdul co-star Eddie’s earlier incarnation as a stand-up comedian.
According to Deadline, Six Minutes to Midnight is in fact a war thriller set in England in the summer of 1939, months before the Second World War broke out in Europe.
Written by Eddie and director Andy Goddard, who’s previously helmed TV shows as varied as Downton Abbey and Luke Cage, it tells the real-life story of Thomas Miller, a teacher at a finishing school on the south coast of England. It’s here that the daughters of high-ranking Nazis learn to become faithful members of Hitler’s League of German Girls.
Okaaaay. So it’s not exactly The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Thomas (Izzard) is forced to go on the run when he’s suspected of murdering a former teacher. He tries desperately, not only to exonerate himself, but also to save the hearts and minds of his students from Hitler’s grip.
Whew! That does sound pretty heavy. So, how does the rest this stellar British cast slot into the action?
Dame Judi will play the school’s headmistress Miss Rocholl while Jim, who starred opposite her in Iris, will take on the role of a character listed simply as “Charlie.”
Rounding out the cast are Carla Juri (Blade Runner 2049), Nigel Lindsay (Victoria), James D’Arcy (Dunkirk), David Schofield (Darkest Hour), Kevin Eldon (Hot Fuzz) and Celyn Jones (Submergence).
Filming started this week in Camarthen, Wales, where Dame Judi has already been spotted enjoying a tub of ice cream.
Are you excited to see Dame Judi share the screen with Eddie and Jim again?