I'm going to start by confessing that I like this movie. Dubious accents aside (and with all due respect to the Yorkshire vocal style, the film is at least understandable this way...), the acting was of a high standard, the dialogue excellent and the key characterisations well drawn. Oh, and it really is funny, in a very unfussy way, as well as touching and occasionally pointed.
That said, neither the subject matter nor the direction particularly suits a cinema presentation; I strongly suspect that however strong the box-office returns, they will be comprehensively eclipsed by the video and DVD sales because this is a deliberately small-scale and intimate movie. Even the periodic, Yorkshire-Tourist-Board issue, panoramic landscape shots don't call for anything much more that a standard issue domestic TV; the film is dialogue and expression driven and frankly doesn't work hard to make you go "wow!" at the spectacle of it all. It does display humanity by the bucketload though and in a very un-Hollywood way, reveals the flaws as well as the strengths of the characters.
If you're looking for a Laugh-out-loud-the-whole-way-through movie, stay away. If you're after a glossy, American-style fable of women winning through despite insurmountable odds, look elsewhere. If you fancy a warm, witty and thoughtful film with actual acting in it, this may appeal. And no matter what, it's still a better use of a cinema screen than "Jackass: The Movie"...
That said, neither the subject matter nor the direction particularly suits a cinema presentation; I strongly suspect that however strong the box-office returns, they will be comprehensively eclipsed by the video and DVD sales because this is a deliberately small-scale and intimate movie. Even the periodic, Yorkshire-Tourist-Board issue, panoramic landscape shots don't call for anything much more that a standard issue domestic TV; the film is dialogue and expression driven and frankly doesn't work hard to make you go "wow!" at the spectacle of it all. It does display humanity by the bucketload though and in a very un-Hollywood way, reveals the flaws as well as the strengths of the characters.
If you're looking for a Laugh-out-loud-the-whole-way-through movie, stay away. If you're after a glossy, American-style fable of women winning through despite insurmountable odds, look elsewhere. If you fancy a warm, witty and thoughtful film with actual acting in it, this may appeal. And no matter what, it's still a better use of a cinema screen than "Jackass: The Movie"...