lynchboy2001

I must say I really only watched this programme for Tom Wilkinson, although the premise was intriguing, with the idea that a man finds out he is a clone & that there are other copies of him walking around, & the confrontation with his father about what happened. And despite a decent storyline, right from the start it was clear it was originally for the stage, with the dialogue very much in the style of a David Mamet play (Oleanna springs to mind), with the progression & dialogue unclear in many places.

The performances however can't be faulted, with excellent performances from Rhys Ifans & Tom Wilkinson, however perhaps the script would've been better adapted for television than taken directly from the play.

Much like the battle that takes place in arguably Wells' most famous novel, this made for TV film seems to have a battle of it's own in the attempt to fully round the character of one of the most contentious authors of the twentieth century. And it almost works.

The first half of the film deals ostensibly with Wells' many flaws - his dream of a Utopian society (with an island for the discarded 'weak' population, to be hidden away), his war-mongering during the First World War, and his wandering eye around the ladies. However, the film is at pains to show that, rather than the hate-filled fantasies of an evil man, all his controversial ponderings come from his over-logical brain, and it is only when confronted with the actualities of the Great War that he sees the error of his ways on so many issues.

The film itself does show HG Wells as a human being, and has no problems showing his flaws and his attempts to rectify himself and the world. However, there are flashes of his predictions for the future (he coined the phrase Atom Bomb 30 years before it's invention), complete with scenes of the Vietnam & Iraqi conflicts, giving the film more of a Nostradamus feel, as if he had visions, rather than educated guesses! Michael Sheen as ever gives a wonderful performance in a slightly above average film, and shows how imperfect, but well meaning, HG Wells was.

Went to see this at the Dublin International Film Festival this afternoon, & I was having my doubts for the first half an hour, but I must say, once I stuck it out, I really enjoyed it.

The film concerns a hard-nosed debt collector, Lucek, who mercilessly repossesses anything from difib machines from hospitals to a statue of the Virgin Mary, without remorse. But things invariably start to unravel for Lucek & an 'epiphany' turns him into a human being, despite everyone's doubts.

The film's turning point is heart-wrenching and the characters develop into rounded people, it just takes them a while! One area I had trouble with though was the soundtrack, which although was really good, didn't really suit the piece.