Sightseers

I was glad that booking this hilarious black comedy at the Melbourne International Film Festival was so worth it.

The story is centered around an odd couple; Chris (Steve Oram); who takes his girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) around the British towns of rural England for inspiration for a book he's writing, However their circumstances take unusual turns until things go horribly wrong.

I may of heard about director Ben Weatley's earlier films' but haven't caught up yet. This film however show he's a skilled filmmaker able to bring a promising film like this to viewers of adult comedy.

Sightseers is woefully original, full of witty dialouge, charming characters and some of the best British Black Humour I have seen in a long time if not ever. There's so many laugh out loud moments I just really feel that this film should be given a limited release in Australia. Its was such a great surprise, by far my favourite film of the Melbourne Intrnational Film Festival.

I do highly recommend this gem of recent British cinema.

4/5

I'd love to go to a pencil museum! Even with a bearded ginger bloke dealing with some serious anger issues. Although I'd draw the line at wearing knitted undies including split-crotch panties. That's obviously more appropriate for the Tate Modern.

The mature part of me sympathises with the erstwhile Robin from Marian & Her Merry Men (bit of a niche reference there) getting his head smashed in for complaining about their leaving dog poo behind. As a responsible dog walker I loathe people who don't clean up after their Woofs.

The film nerd in me spots the similarity with Steve Oram brutally wielding a hefty stick and the early ape-man making a huge leap forwards in 2001: A Space Odyssey. "He's not a person, he's a Daily Mail reader." Chris justifying his oh-so-English brand of vigilantism.

Tina and Chris on the road. Caravan behind being towed. Incident on a tram. An unfortunate ram. Due to litter incongruously stowed

Tina and Chris on the road. Caravan in front being towed. An unfortunate fall. Calamitous sprawl. The price for being rather high browed

Tina and Chris at the pub. Quiet drink and a spot of pub grub. Over she goes. A splash as she throws. All because of the smallest of snubs.

Tina and Chris on a ramble. A pleasant countryside amble. Ends with a bludgeon. Hefty wooden truncheon. Locking horns with the pair is a gamble.

Tina upfront, Chris in bed. A cyclist appears up ahead. After brakes are applied. There's a body to hide. Road rage satisfied and duly fed.

Tina and Chris sit with Martin. He's unconventional and quite spartan. He'll soon meet his god. In his coffin like pod. But Chris will be irked and disheartened.

Tina and Chris viaduct. Preparing to be jointly plucked. A hell of a ride. The pair side by side. An outstanding black comical construct.

SIGHTSEERS is very much a team effort: the two stars (Alice Lowe and Steve Oram) also co-wrote the script. With a distinct nod to earlier films such as Terrence Malick's BADLANDS (1973), it focuses on two lovers, Tina and Chris, who embark on a caravanning holiday that takes a decidedly bloody turn, as they dispose of several innocent victims. Ben Wheatley's cinematic style is certainly startling, with its deliberate use of out-of-sync sound, fantasy sequences, memorable short of gore and a soundtrack that includes work by Soft Cell and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The script is deadpan yet extremely funny: both protagonists get some valuable one-liners. What is perhaps more interesting, however, is Wheatley's focus on his characters' lives; hitherto they have spent their entire existences in total anonymity: Tina has lived with her mother Carol (Eileen Davies), and lavished all her love on a favorite terrier, who was unfortunately impaled to death on some knitting-needles. The road-trip gives Tina the chance to liberate herself, just like Chris, who dreams of becoming a full-time writer after having been made redundant. The idea of "writing" is significant; it suggest the desire to leave a legacy, to inscribe oneself in the present so as to be remembered. When Chris' writing dreams come to naught, he looks for alternative ways to establish himself; hence his desire to kill so as not to be pushed around by anyone (i.e. treated as a nobody). Tina follows suit; but what Wheatley suggests is that the two of them find it very difficult to work as a team - Chris believes that Tina has plagiarized his idea, and resents her for what she has done. Two serial killers don't attract as much media attention as one. For her part, Tina learns how to acquire self-determination, even though there are moments when she doubts herself. The film's ending takes us by surprise, reminding us that the protagonists were not as much in love as we thought they were. With its Grand Guignol action taking place against a breathtaking backdrop of the rolling hills of Yorkshire and the Lake District, SIGHTSEERS is strong meat, but definitely worth staying with.

When you think of all the millions of dollars invested into epic Hollywood blockbusters, then they turn out to be complete turkeys, you'll be heartened to know that there are still brilliant films being made on a fraction of the budget.

If Lord of the Rings was basically an advert for New Zealand's magnificent landscape, then Sightseers does the same job for the north of England. It's about your 'average' couple as they take their first holiday together, i.e. a romantic caravaning tour of the countryside. However, things soon start taking a turn for the worse and the dead bodies soon start piling up.

I won't go into too much detail about the plot. Some films are better that you know as little as possible about them. All you really need to know about Sightseers is that it comprises of the blackest of comedy around. The humour and tone is very dark indeed. If you think you can laugh at some characters with real human frailties, as they come to terms with each other and how they see life, then you should enjoy this.

It really is a true gem. Sadly Sightseers will never attain the dizzy heights of Hollywood's output, but it really deserves its place as a great British film.