Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise

"Death of a Salesman" meets "Glengarry Glenn Ross" on acid, this portrait of the empty, horrible life of door-to-door selling was made on the cheap in 20 days for the BBC. It has Boyle's characteristic energy, and playful eye and a great, if occasionally over-the-top performance by Timothy Spall as a salesman brilliant at his craft if without a shred or morality or self-worth left, along with a solid performance by Michael Begley as the young 'rookie' assigned to apprentice with Spall.

All that good stuff said, I just wish this was deeper. It's dark, certainly, but there's a certain familiarity and even glibness to it's manic attack on capitalism. Enjoyable, fun, sad, but it feels like inside this good movie was a great one looking to get out.

This very different story about salesmen selling vacuum cleaners is dominated by the impressive talents of Timothy Spall as the character Tommy Rag. Spall is absolutely hilarious at the start of the movie as the loud, repulsive Tommy who shows rookie salesman Pete (Michael Begley) the ins and outs of the art of selling people things they don't need or want. Tommy's extreme behaviour (perhaps best displayed in his erratic, abusive driving) is a real treat to watch, almost as if the part was written for Timothy Spall's acting.

Unfortunately, the entertainment value of the film lulled a bit during the middle and end, as the film's characters' circumstances changed and a darker tone was taken. This in itself isn't a bad thing in a movie, but I just found the final two-thirds of the movie didn't match the very funny and entertaining first third.

3 stars/5

From the reaction at the screening at this year's Toronto Int'l Film Festival, "Vacuuming..." and "Strumpet" - two new films from Danny Boyle, are instant crowd favourites.

Danny Boyle is back, after slumming it with "A Life Less Ordinary" and "The Beach." He's in familiar territory here, similar to that of "Trainspotting." We see working class angst, social realism and a healthy dose of the fantastic.

It's gritty, it's dirty, and it's incredibly entertaining. Boyle manages to find gold in the gutters of the slums.

He's also assembled a fine cast of actors, including Timothy Spall and Christopher Eccleston (in "Strumpet.").

Perhaps the biggest triumph lies in Boyle's ability to use digital video to his advantage. The possibilities of the medium are fully displayed here, and the result is breathtaking.

One hopes that Boyle will stick to what he does best and leave Hollywood behind him!

This is a new favourite of mine. Timothy Spall's Tommy Ragg was brilliantly repulsive and hilarious to watch, while Pete swayed violently from being in awe of his mentor's drive for a sale, to wet-yourself fear of his driving skills. Two very convincing portrayals of two very bizarre characters - one incredibly foul and the other oddly likable. I watched it with my brother and we cacked ourselves. It's great.

i´ve just seen this film once, last year, and i must say i found it very hilarious. timothy spall plays a big role. the way he teaches his new colleague and his lifestyle made me cry (laughing).

in fact it is a black humour film, very bright and funny on the surface but very sad at the core.

i recommend it with no reserves. it´s sense of humour may be thick, but it´s still worth the seeing.