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The actors manage to make these ludicrous characters both comically heightened and oddly realistic at the same time. Dialog is deliberately corny, and most interaction is flat-out absurd, but each actor somehow finds a grain of authenticity, which makes these likeably idiotic people easy to root for. Standouts are Beswick and Redd, who fully invest themselves in the craziness. Margolin hams up the detective role superbly, and Drake is hilarious as the eerily overqualified doctor.

With such a dense peppering of jokes, the hit rate is above average thanks to a knowing script and adeptly referential direction (Corirossi is a Funny or Die veteran). While the movie continually plays on porn and slasher cliches, one scene amusingly pays deliberate homage to the Bechdel Test, and there are surprising emotional moments as well. In other words, this wildly inane movie actually has elements of a strong satire. But more importantly, it's genuinely funny.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

13.Jun.19

The actors are excellent, each finding earthiness in characters that have serious secrets and big issues to deal with. Glave has an offhanded charm as the actor who has botched his personal life in the past, and continues to do so. Still, his earnestness is likeable, even if his behaviour isn't. Rickards has perhaps the most complex role, a woman clearly battling internal demons while clinging to a chance for happiness. She's terrific, beautifully mixing joy and pain in every scene.

As a director, Gallagher maintains a comical tone that becomes very dark from time to time, sometimes wrenchingly so. This leads to a bit of mopiness along the way, as the plot lurches to a halt here and there. Sometimes, Gallagher fades out the dialog, as if he's struggling as much as the characters are with facing up to what has happened here. But these situations are deeply thorny. They're difficult to get through, and they force the audience to think about both our own behaviour and how we react to confessions from people we love.

themes, language, sexuality

16.May.19

Newcomer Thomas is excellent in the focal role, an engaging lead who evokes both childish glee and very dark emotion without overplaying it. He has terrific chemistry with Weston, Jones and Benning as his three best mates, as well as powerful scenes with Cennydd, Wilfort and Roberts (as his parents) and Harrington (as a man involved in the situation). Each supporting role is strong enough to offer the cast members a chance to create properly layered characters, although Rhodri's police sergeant is a bit of a knee-jerk hothead.

This is quite a bold little film, and Jones fearlessly shifts the tone from nostalgic playfulness to extreme sadness very early on. Impressively, the serious issues never turn too heavy, and the narrative avoids melodrama, remaining refreshingly honest about how these people react to the dark series of events that set the plot in motion. There are also a few sideroads that offer intriguing angles (mainly involving animals like a misbehaving dog or an elusive barn owl), and at one point the film's central theme is clearly stated, reminding viewers to remember the good even when things turn bad.

themes, language, violence

7.May.19