Die Legende von Barney Thomson

If you appreciate a good black comedy as much as I do, you will enjoy this flick. It was well done. I give Carlyle a lot of credit for his directorial debut with an excellent performance by Emma Thompson, who was a riot.

Overall it was quite a nice ride, very entertaining stuff. If you don't have a sense of humor, you will not get this film at all.

This is a dark comedy that gives genuine giggles. Suspend disbelief and sit back with some popcorn. The whole cast is great. Emma Thompson's role as the jaded mother of Barney is surprising, but her performance is outstanding.

Robert Carlyle's directional debut The Legend Of Barney Thomsen is as pitch friggin black as dark comedies get, and is a side splitting royal circus of cheekily depressing, gloriously gory antics that would make the inhabitants of Fargo run for cover. It also has the distinct flavour of Scotland on its side, every character articulating with a soup thick, snark oozing brogue that throws a devilishly funny haze over the already hilarious comic material. Carlyle plays pathetic barber Barney Thomsen, a volatile, feeble little man who's been relegated to the worst chair in the barbershop, and told what an aggravating, listless nonce he is by his colleagues ("you look like a haunted tree" his supervisor intones in dead seriousness). When they threaten to fire him, he accidentally murders his supervisor with a pair of scissors, and kicks offa blood soaked odyssey of such head banging idiocracy that one can only view this as an ultraviolent looney toons cartoon of murder and madness. Barney finds himself in way over his head and tries to excavate himself out of the dodgy situation he got himself into. There's also a serial killer on the loose in Glasgow that likes to mail body parts to the police, including a dick and a full severed human buttocks, in giddily explicit detail. He's pursued by a maniacal police detective played by Ray Winstone, who plays the role like a Christmas ham hooked up to jumper cable powered by methamphetamine. For an actor to out-crazy Robert Carlyle takes a lot of effort, but Winstone is game, pulling the cork of sanity right out for a howlingly funny piece of work. And then there's Emma Thompson. Holeee crap. I've never seen her cut loose like she does here, playing Barney's cantankerous, potty mouthed, shrivelled old walnut of a mother. She's caked in paper mâché looking makeup and gurgles forth the funniest Scottish accenting the film. You'd have to check the credits to know its Thompson having a bit of fun from her usual serious fare as this skanky, deplorable old baboon and loving every minute of it. Thrown in James Cosmo and a priceless Tom Courtney as a cynical Superintendent, and you've got a cast that's game to give their all for director Carlyle, whose already established competence in off kilter comedic acting clearly extends wonderfully behind the camera as well. A blistering powder keg to kick off 2016, and a full on blood soaked barrel of laughs.

Greatly enjoyed this film. The weakest element is probably the story which is on the improbable end of the spectrum but, as long as you forgive the absurdity of the plot and just go with the flow, it's a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minutes. They could also possibly have done with a little more explanation of the back-story rather than jumping straight in - some might find it all a little complicated especially in the first half hour. The comedy is uniquely Glasgow and the language typically (and authentically!) blue. Visually it's all nicely shot with some of the more off-beat Glasgow landmarks featuring prominently. The acting is great with, as others have noted, standout performances by both Emma Thomson & Ray Winstone. I can't help thinking that Robert Carlyle as Director got better performances out of his other leads than he did out of Robert Carlyle (Actor) - perhaps the double responsibility of first time director and lead actor was a little too much to pull off. Not that his performance was bad, just a little lacking in finesse in places.

Minor criticisms apart, this is a very enjoyable movie and well worth watching.

Glasgow police Detective Inspector Holdall (Ray Winstone) leads the failing investigation into a serial killer who dismembers his victims. He gets demoted and has to report to rival Detective Inspector June Robertson (Ashley Jensen). Barney Thomson (Robert Carlyle) is a bitter mediocre barber and nobody likes his angry demeaner. His boss Wullie Henderson fires him and he accidentally kills Wullie. He brings the body home and his mom Cemolina (Emma Thompson) chops it up for unknown reasons.

Robert Carlyle tries his hand at directing. The material has some dark humor. The cast is stacked. It works to some extend. Carlyle needs a more daring visual eye to fully satisfy the material's dark surreal potential. It's a solid debut but he doesn't have an unique enough style. He remains a great actor but his directing career is still in doubt. At least, Emma Thompson seems to be having loads of fun. The movie sings whenever she's with Carlyle.