Apart from old continuing series like Lewis, Frost, and the occasional Agatha Christie adaptions, ITV has been seriously devoid of any quality TV Drama for over a year now, and even that was just a small three-part series (Whitechapel). That is, until last week it seems, as one-off drama U Be Dead gave us a gripping, tense and complex dramatisation of a true story about a twisted stalker and the human lives wrecked and affected by her actions.
Albert’s Memorial thankfully continues this trend in higher quality drama, albeit not quite so much. Unlike the intricate U Be Dead, Albert’s Memorial is a much lighter tale, although one that is just as moving in places, if not more so. With the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain upon us (and the 65th Anniversary of VE Day just past us), it’s only fitting for a drama to arrive that reflects upon the memories of such an important and affecting time in our ever-changing civilisation’s history. The fact that these memories are fictional makes them no less poignant.
The strong heart of Albert’s Memorial is wrapped around a light comedic caper, that at times feels like a movie version of Last of the Summer Wine. Frank (David Warner) and Harry (David Jason) try to smuggle the passed-away body of Albert (Michael Jayston) into Germany, as he made them promise to bury him at a hillside near Berlin. The three were once close friends who met as fellow soldiers fighting in Germany in the last months of World War II. Albert’s motivation is to bring the two old elderly friends together and help them remember a terrible event that affected them all at the end of the War.
We later discover that Frank, Harry and Albert were lost in the German forests when they encountered an innocent German refugee in April 1945. They all travelled together, looking for some sympathetic civilisation, until they met the Russians coming in the opposite direction. Initial celebration turned to terror, when the Russians took the young German refugee away, and brutally shot her down - a bloodthirsty reaction to encountering the Nazi’s concentration camps earlier on.
This is the powerfully moving tale at the heart of Albert’s Memorial, and for the most part is expertly told. Despite the somewhat patronising setups (the belittled Granddad, doted on by his daughter, and shouted at by his rude and ignorant grandchild) and the occasional clichéd jokes and dialogue (that sounds like it came from the 1970’s), the first half of the programme is a lightly amusing run-around across the continent. You also get a good sense of the bitterness between Frank and Harry, hinting at dark and terrible secrets that we are just waiting to find out.
After such a light build-up, the story revelation (about the German refugee) in the second half changes the atmosphere of the programme in an instant, revealed to us in an emotional argument at the climax of Frank and Harry’s bitter byplay. The unfolding scene is both as heartwrenching and moving, as it is sad and tragic, and made all the more powerful by one of David Jason’s best acting performances. Although the story is fictional, it reflects so much about what we know to be true of that period that we almost can’t help, but believe it. The effect of the revelation echoes throughout the rest of the drama in random flashbacks from Harry’s memory, but after those 10 minutes of superb acting, direction and writing, one element threatened to undermine the whole programme.
Vicky is a likeable character that joins Harry and Frank in their European caper. An outgoing and sweet German hitchhiker in her twenties, Vicky seems to guess exactly what is going on in the plot without hardly being told or thinking it suspicious. For a short while it seems like perhaps Vicky is a loose, thrill-seeking kind of person – a free spirit, particularly as she doesn’t mind going all the way to Prague or driving recklessly. However, she promptly disappears when Frank and Harry reach the hillside they’re looking for, and turns out to be an Angel ghost of the murdered German refugee; helping the two old soldiers to reach their destination.
In many ways this is a twist too far, and ends this entertaining and affecting tale with a ridiculously mindless conclusion that is as pointless as it is clichéd and corny. It also seems a lazy way of clearing up all the contrivances in the script, such as how Frank and Harry never lose the lorry they’re chasing to Prague, or the fact that they are never seen or caught out when engaging in illegal actions (stealing a body; smuggling it across the English Channel; dangerous driving).
Albert’s Memorial then, feels like a programme of contradictions. Firstly, it portrays a simple, light, warm and harmless comedy to pass the time, and then it successfully surprises us by turning into a touching and moving drama; all brilliantly acted, but somehow never quite gels together convincingly. If only they hadn’t spoiled the whole thing with such a feeble ending.
Score: 8/10
