Heartlands

Heartlands is wonderful. It is beautifully shot and, as I have come to expect of Mr. Sheen (Colin) at least, remarkably well acted. The movie made me laugh out loud - twice - without having to resort to potty jokes or sloppy slap stick humor. It also made me cry, not because it is an intrinsically sad film, but because it is in part the story of Everyman. Unless a person is remarkably dull or a recluse, there will be moments in this film that could have been taken from the pages of anyone's life. Granted the characters and situations are a bit larger, if not more colorful, than one might typically expect to encounter, it is Mr. Sheen's ability to humanize them that touches.

Without spoiling things for people who haven't seen the film, there is a scene in this movie that will stick with me forever. It is so full of simple, unburdened joy that anyone who sees it will be instantly both amused and completely charmed.

Call me Quixote, as I am off in search of windmills.....

You should like this film if you are a motorbike fan, if you liked seaside resorts as a kid, if you like gentle folk music, or if you were in the Brownies. In some ways it's a typical British film: understated humour, overstated contrasts between the good and the bad in English landscapes, various characters who overdo British stereotypes, and a hero who's a wimp; but it also carries the usual themes of a road movie, albeit more slowly than many road movies. It's also about "heart", in the figurative sense, which is about the only relevance the title has to the film ... except that the road trip goes across the central hills of England. It's obviously a low budget film, but it shows what can be achieved without big special effects.

Saw this in a film class when I was studying in Ireland and got to participate in a Q&A with director Damien O'Donnell (other films to check out, East is East and the short 35 Aside.) I was very saddened to discover that it has not had, and will probably never have any kind of wide release.

It is the story of Colin, a sweet, bumbly darts enthusiast who embarks on a trip across the British Midlands in search of his girlfriend and his life.

I thought it was a beautiful and captivating film that broke my heart and lifted it all at the same time. I have never felt so empathetic for a protagonist before and the experience is one I'd love everyone in the world to have.

The word on the street is that a certain Miramax executive has decided to sit on this gem of a film indefinitely and I think that is beyond wrong. It is totally sublime and should get it's day in the sun!

Story: Cuckolded shopkeeping darts enthusiast, Colin, sets off cross country to win back his wife. Out of his routine life and familiar home town and passing through the beauty of the Peak District to the brashness of Blackpool, Colin meets with a series of people and incidents that shape his new life. Funny and very human.

How this film got zero publicity (apart from a few dismissive reviews) at the time of its cinematic release and is still not available on video/DVD is a mystery. It is witty, charming, beautifully shot, with excellent performances. The seven day structure to the story, in which a simple man's simple life is utterly transformed, underlines the foregoing monotony of the lives of all of the characters. The fabulous cast play their roles for all they are worth with out hamming it up. There are grotesques, but overall it is a subtle portrayal. The Northern setting allows for drab urban to glorious country to kitch seaside backdrops, and the provincial anonymity is used to indicate the everyman nature of the protagonist, not to present him as a local curio. The are any number of excellent cameos, not least Kate Rusby's set of folk songs, and the red moped!

One of the best movies I've seen in a long-time! (We rented it purely on the off-chance (there was nothing else that caught our eye).

Beautifully acted and well-directed, what really made this film for me was the cinematography; the film is beautiful shot. From the grim cityscapes of Sheffield, across the scenic Peak District, to the garish tourist-trap that is Blackpool, the film brings northern Britain to life.

The soundtrack, by British folk legends Kate Rusby and John McCusker is haunting.

A wonderful, under-rated movie that helped restore my faith in the power of cinema after one too many Hollywood CGI-fests.

Enjoy.