Save the Cinema

The true story of the Lyric, a much loved and used cinema / theatre in the Welsh town on Carmarthen is destined for demolition to make way for a new supermarket. Local theatre producer and mum Liz Evans (Samantha Morton) decides to stop at nothing to keep the Lyric going.

Sub Ealing type comedy, which, whilst pleasant enough and well lead by Morton, needs more fun characters and indeed laughs. Sweet to be sure, but unremarkable and predictable.

With an excellent central performance of Samantha Morton, Save the Cinema will have you laughing out loud one minute and wiping a tear away a moment later. Morton plays 'Liz the Lyric' beautifully, and although she makes the part her own, it is obvious that Morton and the production team have had access to archive documentary footage with snippets of real life dialogue faithfully and skillfully re-enacted.

A stellar supporting cast (a who's who of Welsh talent) topped by Tom Felton as a town councillor and Johnathon Pryce as her inspirational retired school teacher are swept up in Liz's quest to save the condemned cinema of the title.

The fictional elements woven into the historical facts pluck at the heartstrings, particularly with Pryce's reminiscences of watching Goodnight Mr Chips, which led him to becoming a teacher. The film is a wonderful testament to the efforts of a women and the legions of helpers and children she inspired.

The accompanying documentary Save the Cinema: Behind the Curtain on SKY is a recommended watch, presented by two of Liz's real life sons, Mark and Wynne (of Go Compare infamy!)

This new Sky Movies offering, "Save the Cinema", is short on finesse but strong on Welsh charm. It's also based on a true story that I only fully dredged from the deep recesses of my brain as the film was running.

Positives:

• Notwithstanding my reservations about this one (as below), this was a heart-warming tale of Welsh grit and determination. It really has a lot in common with last year's "Dream Horse" in this regard. It's also (bizarrely) based on a true story.

• Note: I have deliberately NOT described the "bizarre" aspect of the story here, since I hadn't had that spoiled and it made the film far better for me. Although the facts hovered on the edge of my memory, I only progressively recalled them as the film went on!

• Aside from the leads, a wide array of Welsh acting talent is given the chance to perform including comedian Rhod Gilbert, Owain Yeoman, Owen Teale and the very attractive Erin Richards, as the mayor's assistant and love interest Susan. It also pins its Britishness to its sleeve (probably making it a tough sell outside the UK) by featuring Wynne Evans, the "Go Compare" man. It emerges that he has a genuinely interesting link to the film.

• It's also great to see Tom Felton on the big screen and NOT playing a villain for once! After roles as Draco Malfoy and the zookeeper in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (a brilliant and under-rated performance in my book) I thought he might end up as the dodgy property developer. But no!

Negatives:

• I thought the script was really pretty ropey:
• - The film clunks along with many lines that you really wouldn't imagine anyone saying in reality. At times Liz muses to herself out-loud as a device to move the plot along, when a "show-don't-tell" approach would have been perfectly sufficient.

-- There's a conflict injected between Liz and her husband David that seems false and purely added for dramatic effect.

-- At times the film overly signposts where its heading, killing any sort of suspense in the story (a 'goodnight' scene with Jonathan Pryce being a prime example).

Summary Thoughts on "Save The Cinema": This movie was clunking along, in my opinion, at around the 5/10 level for most of its running time. As Douglas Adams would have put it, it was "mostly harmless". Its ace-in-the-hole was the bizarre historical event that comprises the finale of the movie: an event that caused something irritating to get in my eye and an unexplained lump develop in my throat. For this reason alone, I added on the extra point.

"Save the Cinema" is available on Sky / NowTV Cinema (at least, it is in the UK)

(For the full graphical review, please check out #onemannsmovies online. Thanks).

We really enjoyed this movie based on a true story saving a cinema in Wales from being pulled down. A real feel good movie and an easy watch with friends. Just the sort of film that you need to escape to after such a disappointing year with this virus.

A bit like Finding Your Feet - a cast of great actors given a rather tedious script. Entirely predictable with two dimensional characters. The film actually starts well with a show from the eighties and moves forward to the actors as adults and parents. That part actually works.

After that it gets a little tedious.