directed by Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant / starring Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Tom Hughes, Ricky Gervais, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode
My attention was caught by two names, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and I thought there were two very good reasons to see a film. The fellows who made Extras can't do anything bad, right? Well, I'm sure they could if they tried, but Cemetery Junction was quite a pathetic attempt. Try harder next time, fellows. Or on second thought, just make more good movies.
The film is set in England in the 1970s, in a sorry little town called Cemetery Junction. It's about Freddie, a young lad who gets a job at an insurance company in hopes of becoming rich and avoiding the life of his dad, who has worked in a factory his whole life. His best friend Bruce always talks about getting away, but seems inevitably stuck, getting drunk every day and spending more nights in jail than at home with his apathetic dad. (And then there's the third member of the gang, Snork, but he's just there for the comedy, really.)
In his new job Freddie tumbles into his childhood friend, Julie and there are definitely some sparks in the air, but she is the boss's daughter AND engaged to a top seller of the company, so that's that then, right? Julie introduces Freddie to her own dreams, and makes him reevaluate his own goals and wishes in life. How difficult can breaking free be?
Cemetery Junction was not what I expected judging by my previous experiences of the pair Gervais/Merchant. It was quite funny at times, yes, but the dramatic elements were suprisingly dominant in the story. I even shed a tear, can you imagine! (I'm not going to spoil you the scene, but it was a great example of the power of just one little silent gesture.) It is not the most original film in the world, but it has a big heart and a pretty good sense of humour, too. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it left me feeling nice and warm inside. Though I still feel bad for the man with the fruit bowl. Watch the film and you'll know what I mean... I wanted to punch a certain someone.
The young actors do a good job, they are relatable and believable. (The actor of Freddie looked like Daniel Radcliffe once in a while. It was disturbing.) Ralph Fiennes is awesome playing an a-hole, as always, and Matthew Goode succeeds in the mission as well. I never thought I could loathe someone as adorable as Matthew Goode, but I stand corrected. Ricky Gervais does a minor role himself as the father of Freddie and provides some funny moments colliding with his mother-in-law. And there was also a 10-second cameo by Merchant, which I was looking forward to the whole time, because that dude just cracks me up. He doesn't have to say anything, he can just stand and make a random face and I'll laugh.
Cemetery Junction made me swear on my mortal soul that if anyone ever asked me to hop on a train with them, destination unknown, I'd do it. (This probably means I can expect invitations to start arriving by tomorrow noon, because that's what swearing on my mortal soul has triggered lately...) In the words of an ancient Arab proverb... throw your heart out in front of you and run ahead to catch it.
A wonderful little film, please watch it!
The film is set in England in the 1970s, in a sorry little town called Cemetery Junction. It's about Freddie, a young lad who gets a job at an insurance company in hopes of becoming rich and avoiding the life of his dad, who has worked in a factory his whole life. His best friend Bruce always talks about getting away, but seems inevitably stuck, getting drunk every day and spending more nights in jail than at home with his apathetic dad. (And then there's the third member of the gang, Snork, but he's just there for the comedy, really.)
In his new job Freddie tumbles into his childhood friend, Julie and there are definitely some sparks in the air, but she is the boss's daughter AND engaged to a top seller of the company, so that's that then, right? Julie introduces Freddie to her own dreams, and makes him reevaluate his own goals and wishes in life. How difficult can breaking free be?
Cemetery Junction was not what I expected judging by my previous experiences of the pair Gervais/Merchant. It was quite funny at times, yes, but the dramatic elements were suprisingly dominant in the story. I even shed a tear, can you imagine! (I'm not going to spoil you the scene, but it was a great example of the power of just one little silent gesture.) It is not the most original film in the world, but it has a big heart and a pretty good sense of humour, too. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it left me feeling nice and warm inside. Though I still feel bad for the man with the fruit bowl. Watch the film and you'll know what I mean... I wanted to punch a certain someone.
The young actors do a good job, they are relatable and believable. (The actor of Freddie looked like Daniel Radcliffe once in a while. It was disturbing.) Ralph Fiennes is awesome playing an a-hole, as always, and Matthew Goode succeeds in the mission as well. I never thought I could loathe someone as adorable as Matthew Goode, but I stand corrected. Ricky Gervais does a minor role himself as the father of Freddie and provides some funny moments colliding with his mother-in-law. And there was also a 10-second cameo by Merchant, which I was looking forward to the whole time, because that dude just cracks me up. He doesn't have to say anything, he can just stand and make a random face and I'll laugh.
Cemetery Junction made me swear on my mortal soul that if anyone ever asked me to hop on a train with them, destination unknown, I'd do it. (This probably means I can expect invitations to start arriving by tomorrow noon, because that's what swearing on my mortal soul has triggered lately...) In the words of an ancient Arab proverb... throw your heart out in front of you and run ahead to catch it.
A wonderful little film, please watch it!
"Freddie, stop listening to music made by poofs. Stick on some Elton John."
2 comments:
Sounds intriguing! I just cursed my must-see-movies-list, it's becoming untolerable.. Wonder where I'll get all the time to watch them :P Anyways, I'll be adding this to the list!
I feel your pain! Everytime I see one movie from my must-see-list, three more seems to appear in return... It's a mission impossible!
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