Goodnight Mister Tom, the beloved British period drama starring John Thaw and Nick Robinson is on TV tonight. With a “heart-wrenching” plot and powerful performances, this is perfect viewing on Boxing Day.
The television film, which is based on Michelle Magorian’s 1981 novel of the same name, is set during World War II, with the story following youngster William “Willie” Beech (Robinson) as he is evacuated from London.
He is subsequently sent to the village of Little Weirwold, where he is in the care of Tom Oakley (Thaw). Despite initial nervousness, the pair develop a strong bond, though Willie has painful memories from his life in London.
Originally released on ITV in 1998, Goodnight Mister Tom can be viewed once again over the festive season as it airs today at 5.55pm on ITV3. If you can’t wait until then, then the period drama is already streaming now on ITVX.
Though not widely reviewed by critics, the television film has been widely lauded by general audiences, with IMDb reporting an impressive average user rating of 7.8 out of 10 from 5500 reviews.
ITV/Shutterstock//Shutterstock
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“A truly wonderful film, with superb acting all round. The story was very engrossing and held me spellbound. Just loved everything about it,” wrote one user, who called the period drama “heart-wrenching”.
This sentiment was echoed by another user, who wrote: “Absolute masterpiece of a film! Goodnight Mister Tom has swiftly become one of my favourite films of all time. Nobody should miss out on seeing this film, it’s just too good!”
“Mister Tom is perfectly portrayed by John Thaw as the harsh old man who becomes a soft father-figure when William Beech (Nick Robinson) is sent to him for evacuation, almost like ‘The town mouse and the country mouse’. A truly heart-wrenching film,” they continued.
ITV
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“It is the relationship between Tom and young Willie that is the heart and soul of this story. It is touching and beautiful to see this bond between the young boy evacuated from London and the grumpy old man he is left with develop,” wrote another viewer.
In addition to Thaw and Robinson, the cast for the period drama includes Annabelle Apsion, Pauline Turner and Geoffrey Beevers. Brian Finch adapted the novel for the screen, with Jack Gold serving as director.
Goodnight Mister Tom airs at 5.55pm on ITV3 and is also streaming on ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.