London Road

I was the 1000th person to rate the film, so I see it fair that I also throw up a review. Firstly, you need to know that this film is not for everyone. Absolutely not! Don't be lured in by Tom Hardy or Olivia Colman. You should instead be lured in by the unique take on film genre and a much more 'abstract' method of telling a story.

This is a musical about a series of five horrible murders that took place on London Road. Every lyric, however, is also taken verbatim from an interview conducted with real people and you therefore get some very genuine-feeling phrases being turned into musical numbers.

This all very weird, but the chilling melodies and rhythms as well as the intense and gritty way it is sung is frightening and works wonders. The acting is also very strong, but the intense use of color (or lack thereof) in the production and costume design is what really sells the songs and thereby the film.

The story is not too captivating, and there are times when a musical motif is used a dozen times too many, but this film is definitely worth checking out if you are in the mood for watching something extremely different and bizarre.

I found this startling at the beginning - a musical about the impact on a community of five serial murders, consisting of dialogue taken from media interviews conducted with neighbours of the accused murderer. But as the film progressed I became intrigued and, quite surprisingly, moved by this unusual documentary. The actors (especially Olivia Coleman) got the lilt of the original dialogue just right, and the music brilliantly melded the rhythm and innate musicality of the language into a diverse range of songs of many musical genres. Most moving, I think, was the song of the streetwalkers who had been most impacted and most sidelined in this tragedy.

Another reviewer referred to this as "astonishing." I suppose that can be taken several ways.

When I decided to watch this film I missed "musical" in the description and mistakenly assumed it was a murder docu-drama, rather than a crime docu-songfest.

I guess it could be described as innovative. It is allegedly based on a real event, the real words of those in the community, the reactions/implications of & for those in the locale affected by the murders and the subsequent investigations. As we are told repeatedly, people became suspicious of one another.

The question remains, is all of this something to sing about. The medium is the message or at least it influences how one feels about it all. For me it just seemed tedious and rather bizarre.

This musical is based on the National Theatre stage production which is based on actual events that took place in London Road Ipswich.

In 2006, London Road had a problem with prostitutes who had moved into their street. Not only were the working girls touting for business but they were having sex in view of the residents. Then five of the women's bodies were found and one of their neighbours was charged and convicted of the offence. This is the story of the residents' thoughts and feelings during the incident and their attempt to recover from the stigmatism which was caused.

Musicals aren't my favourite type of movie though I did like the classics. Though the music and songs are more contemporary in this film. Unfortunately, it's that same music and songs that injure the film. I liked the idea of the songs encompassing and including the tenants' actual comments, however, there just isn't enough of them and the lyrics end up being repeated too much. This repetition is very annoying and nearly had me turning it off a couple of times. It would have been nice if Adam Cork, who composed the music, had spread his wings a little more as most of the songs are very similar and add to the monotonous feel.

Luckily the filming by director Rufus Norris is interesting and well crafted to suit the music and songs, as well as the narrative when you have the residents speaking. It's also these acting sequences that hold the film together as the are very well skilled at their craft. It's these elements and not the musical ones that make you relate to the characters and understand just what they were going through.

If it hadn't been a musical then I believe this would have been a much greater film.

If you like contemporary musicals this may be for you. If you're thinking about watching this for members of the cast - Olivia Coleman or Tom Hardy, be aware that they are not in this film for long. In fact, none of the cast is, and I like the movie more because of this. Each actors playing the residents appear to have the same screen time. Though, if you're a studying filmmaker or you're just interested in well-made and shot movies then I'd recommend this for you.

Yes, if like me, you see this film without knowing anything about its content and presentation, you should find it astonishing. As you can see from the plot summary in IMDb above, the story is a true one, in Ipswich in Britain, where five murders occurred not that many years ago. These events were then taken up by the National Theatre, and now as a film. There are a wide range of characters in the street (London Road) and they all have their own words used to make the dialogue. However, it is the presentation and delivery of the story that makes this film so riveting. My only reservations were the handling of two of the central characters which seemed a little far-fetched, but these are minor quibbles in a film which will be very differently delivered on the screen from what anyone would expect. Some of the imagery in the crowd scenes is especially noteworthy. Definitely recommended for art-house film fans, and the large crowd in Melbourne at the screening I attended seemed to be most impressed by its audacity.