Hanover Street is a very good film, it's definitely more a of a romantic drama than a traditional war movie. However it does include some good action scenes and the entire movie does a fantastic job of never letting you forget that this takes place during a war.
This movie which is set during World War II, follows American bomber pilot Lieutenant David Halloran (Harrison Ford) and a British nurse (Lesley-Anne Down) as they instantly connect and fall in love during an accidental meeting on a street in London. Getting caught in a air raid only seemed to cement and intensify their burgeoning romance. However there's a problem, not only will she not tell him her name but she's also married.
Neither detail mattered to Lt. Halloran who was completely and madly in love with her. He knows she feels the same way about him which is why he ask her to meet him in two weeks on the same day at the place where they met. When the day finally arrived, he shows up and waits for her. There was growing tension as he continued to wait, perhaps wondering if she would actually show up. And just when he thinks she's not going to show up, he spots her. This was the start to their ongoing love affair. Funny thing, she did eventually tell David her name which was Margaret.
As Margaret Sellinger tried to balance her secret relationship with David and being a good wife and mom (her and Paul have a daughter name Sarah), she was dealing with the guilt of falling in love with someone else. Her husband Paul (Christopher Plummer), a British Intelligence Officer, is a kind and caring man but her love for David was just so all-consuming.
A turning point came when Paul took on a dangerous mission to retrieve information from Nazis in France. Lt. Halloran's bomber team would be flying Paul for this assignment, however a terrible attack would leave David and Paul as the only survivors. They would have to work together to complete the mission. Most of the exciting action in the movie is during this time with the two cleverly infiltrating a Nazi stronghold and then trying to get away.
What I found interesting is that David had no idea that Paul was Margaret's husband but once he found out you could immediately see a change in him. During the scene where Paul was speaking in such a loving manner about Margaret I knew it was giving David a pause for thought. He knew that she was married but her husband didn't factor into their affair because he was an abstract concept. So to actually meet and interact with Paul made what David and Margaret were doing very real especially in regards to who they would be hurting.
If David survives, you can tell that he is probably going to make a decision about his relationship with Margaret. I'm still trying to understand Margaret's motivation for cheating on her husband, perhaps she had grown bored with Paul because she mentioned that up until that point he was the only man she had ever been with. Although, Paul was slightly older than her there was nothing shown that would indicate that he was a terrible person. He was shown as being highly intelligent, kind, caring, loving and supportive but I guess she was just so drawn to David who was charismatic, fun and attractive that she instantly fell for him. I think Paul sort of subconsciously picked up on her lack of interest in him and he felt as if he was dull and boring which was probably the reason he choose to take on that dangerous mission. Perhaps as a way to prove that he could be exciting and adventurous.
This was a very engaging movie and despite a little bit of predictability, it very much held my interest. And with three very different main characters, I found they equally shined in this story. I was surprised that the insta-love between Margaret and David didn't annoy me because I'm really not a fan of this romance trope. However, it worked in this story due to the highly uncertain time of war that seemed to heighten the romantic feelings between them. I don't know if this was a real romance between them or something that was fostered by the circumstances of war but it made for an intriguing story.
Please note that although, this is rated PG, there is a scene showing brief nudity.
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