Despite the whiff of “Oscar bait” surrounding the production, it’s a well-made, affecting tale about do-gooders who do good rather than merely muddying the waters.

Will likely satisfy audiences who go in with appropriately established expectations because, for what it is, the film is solidly entertaining.

Because of the strength of the acting (Ronan’s in particular) and Gerwig’s unusual reworking of the novel’s chronology and ending, it deserves to be seen.

The subject matter is inherently non-cinematic and, regardless of how many swoops, tilts, and fast cuts the director employs, his sense of visual flair never overcomes the underplayed drabness of the narrative.

A war movie of uncommon vision - by turns startling, gut-wrenching, exhausting, and satisfying.

Exists as a reminder not only of a time when filmmakers had more latitude but of the types of production that would find little traction in today’s changed cinematic marketplace.