"Dunkirk" WW2 movie directed by Chris Nolan coming out in July 2017

[Pusser]

Interesting that the Clouston family is criticizing Kenneth Branagh's character for not having a "Canadian" accent.  I'm not going to argue one way or the other whether the character should have had a real vice fictionalized name or whether he should have been identified as Canadian, but I can argue that the accent was most likely correct.  Keep in mind that Cdr Clouston, although Canadian, was serving in the Royal Navy, not the Royal Canadian Navy.  At that time in Britain (and to some extent this is true even today), accent meant everything and the "correct" accent would open or close doors.  Many people would change their accents accordingly in order to get ahead.  Furthermore, Clouston was well educated and most likely had a "mid-Atlantic" accent to begin with.  Check out some NFB documentaries from as late as the 1960s and you will hear an accent vaguely (but not quite) British.  In joining the RN at a young age, Clouston would most likely have adopted an English accent in order to fit in.  It is worth noting that officers adopting English accents was prevalent in the RCN well into the 1960s (the point at which Canada started to conduct more and more officer training at home).  Even into the 1980s, you could still hear a "wardroom" accent in Canada - spoken by officers who'd grown up in Saskatchewan...

What's more puzzling about accents in the movie was Harry Styles portraying a soldier in a highland regiment, with an English accent!

Another thing that struck me was the RN officers shown on the pier in Dorset wearing officer rank badges, but petty officer cap badges!

 

[dimsum]

Interesting that the Clouston family is criticizing Kenneth Branagh's character for not having a "Canadian" accent.  I'm not going to argue one way or the other whether the character should have had a real vice fictionalized name or whether he should have been identified as Canadian, but I can argue that the accent was most likely correct.  Keep in mind that Cdr Clouston, although Canadian, was serving in the Royal Navy, not the Royal Canadian Navy.  At that time in Britain (and to some extent this is true even today), accent meant everything and the "correct" accent would open or close doors.  Many people would change their accents accordingly in order to get ahead.  Furthermore, Clouston was well educated and most likely had a "mid-Atlantic" accent to begin with.  Check out some NFB documentaries from as late as the 1960s and you will hear an accent vaguely (but not quite) British.  In joining the RN at a young age, Clouston would most likely have adopted an English accent in order to fit in.  It is worth noting that officers adopting English accents was prevalent in the RCN well into the 1960s (the point at which Canada started to conduct more and more officer training at home).  Even into the 1980s, you could still hear a "wardroom" accent in Canada - spoken by officers who'd grown up in Saskatchewan...

What's more puzzling about accents in the movie was Harry Styles portraying a soldier in a highland regiment, with an English accent!

Another thing that struck me was the RN officers shown on the pier in Dorset wearing officer rank badges, but petty officer cap badges!

Interesting and thanks Pusser. 

I noticed the PO capbadges as well, but compared to some other inaccuracies I've seen in other Hollywood depictions of the military, I was willing to let it slide.