The Great Escaper (2023)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A World War II veteran escapes his nursing home to travel to France for a D-Day anniversary.
The story
Normandy veteran Bernard "Bernie" Jordan and his wife Rene are living together in a retirement home following Rene's health issues. Bernie, who served in the Royal Navy during World War II, initially hopes to attend the 70th anniversary of D-Day. However, he is told that there are no spaces left on any of the group tours to Normandy for the event. Initially hesitant to leave his wife behind due to her health, he is persuaded by Rene herself to find his own way to Normandy to join the commemorations. Bernie leaves the nursing home early one morning, and takes a taxi to Dover, getting a ticket on a ferry to France.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Normandy veteran Bernard "Bernie" Jordan and his wife Rene are living together in a retirement home. When Bernie learns there are no spots left on group tours for the 70th anniversary of D-Day, his wife encourages him to find his own way to Normandy. He escapes the nursing home, travels to Dover, and boards a ferry. On the ferry, he meets Arthur, an RAF veteran, who invites him to join his group and share a room. While the nursing home staff panics over his disappearance, Rene reveals to a nurse that she has a terminal illness. In France, Bernie and Arthur give their tickets to a German soldier who also fought on D-Day. They visit war cemeteries where Bernie confronts his guilt over the death of a comrade, Douglas Bennett. Upon returning to the UK, Bernie becomes a media sensation known as "the Great Escaper." He eventually confesses his feelings of guilt to Rene, who reassures him. The film ends with them watching the sunrise together. An epilogue reveals that Bernie died six months later, and Rene died seven days after him.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Oliver Parker
- Writers
- William Ivory · writer
- Cast and characters
- Michael Caine · Bernard "Bernie" Jordan; Glenda Jackson · Rene
- Genres
- biographical; comedy-drama
- Themes
- war; memory; love
- Tone and mood
- moving; heartwarming
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; war; escape
- Source material / true-story basis
- true story
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the performances of Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson as a moving and nuanced drama.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100
- Production trivia
- It was the final performance for Glenda Jackson.; Michael Caine announced his retirement from acting after the film.; The film was shot entirely in the UK.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…