A Fistful of Fingers

Graham Low is the Man With No Name and Oli van der Vijver is the Lee Van Cleef character in Edgar Low's first feature film.

As you might guess from the title, it's a burlesque of the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood westerns, with a sketch of a pot and a lot of actors of whom you've never heard doing a mediocre job. There are plenty of juvenile gags, and it gives the impression of a bunch of amateurs who really liked MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and figured they could do the same for westerns.

I was disappointed, in part because, while the flow of gags never stopped, each one was offered as if it was hilarious. When you've got that rat-a-tat pacing, you need to offer a gag and then move on to the next.

Edgar Wright's first film is... not good, pretty bad in fact.

'A Fistful of Fingers' does work in small doses, though all in all it's rather limp. The early stages, the opening 25 minutes or so, are solid if hit-and-miss, unfortunately the rest is heavy in the miss department. There are some mildly amusing bits, the Clint Eastwood/'A Fistful of Dollars' schtick is decent but quickly runs dry.

There isn't much to talk about regarding the cast, they give alright performances I guess - Graham Low sticks out most, as you'd expect. The film coulda done without the Native American stuff, which is not only lazy and rather unsavoury. The, unexpected, animated bit was cool though.

The best part of this film? The poster. Noice.

This is a funny film that parodies westerns . Most, if not all of the cast are probably still in their teens and still in school. Even though it is low budget, it looks very professional. More professional than a lot of other low budget British films. The writing is very funny, a lot of monty python, Airplane, and Naked Gun kind of humour. It feels a bit slow at times, but is still a very enjoyable film. It's a bit more over the top and surreal than Blazing Saddles. One of the funniest western parody I've ever seen.

Im currently studying film, and am more than aware of how difficult it is to make a semblance of a good movie on your own. Its amazing what Edgar Wright managed to do with this film, and a clear sign that this man would do amazing things if he had the right resources. Even though some of the jokes in this film don't land, those that do are solid and creative. It gets way too silly in its second half and loses its way in the story and comedy just a little, but overall its a very impressive first effort by a masterful future director.

5.5/10

This is very funny in parts and a send up of the great 'Spaghetti Westerns'.'Fingers' is high spirited, low budget production but i'm sure all involved, had a passion for the wonderful subject matter. You can't help but get sucked into some very silly situations and a film you can have a few beers before hand (no doubt).