Cemetery Junction

Though I knew Ricky Gervais and Steve merchant directed it, I had no prior expectations about this movie. I did not know what it was about nor did i read any reviews before watching. Trust me, that is the best way to watch Cemetery Junction. Don't listen to the reviews of jaded film critics who over-analyze and complain about other movies being similar. This is a movie that make you feel good without explicitly being a feel-good movie. I came out feeling nostalgic for 70s Britain though I grew up in 90s USA. The dialog is witty, smart, often funny and sometimes touching. It deftly touches on themes of loss, regret, friendship, love, and following one's dreams. This is my favorite British film in quite some time. You will not regret watching this movie.

Loved this film. It really took me back. They don't quite nail the period, but you can tell when Fiennes is talking about his schooldays at the start, about leaving at 14, that they're blurring things a bit, or at least his character doesn't realize how things have changed... The preoccupation with obscenity, for example, is more 60s than 70s. (They work the idea so much of the Swinging 60s passing Cemetery Junction by that it's almost homage to Tom Courtenay and Rita Tushingham and that crowd!) It's England before punk, before the computer revolution, when the establishment thought they had won the argument that there was no cause left worth rebelling for/against, when there was still a workshop rather than silicon chip flavor to working life.

You can criticize the Hollywood stuff if you like, but Gervais and Merchant like to work where they can at different levels, as long as they get to take the mick out of all of them. I didn't hear the old radio shows much, but enough to know that. This is no exception. Not a strong plot. You have seen it lots of times before. Billy Liar is a better variation. But great dialog, great comic acting , beautifully observed, very funny, fantastic soundtrack. The only time I have ever liked the Osmonds' Crazy Horses. Great entertainment. You'd need to be really hard to please to be disappointed on that score. Personally I'd have liked a bit more sync with the Reading Festival, maybe some Rory Gallagher on the soundtrack, but bluesy Zeppelin will do, I'm not complaining. I'll take 2 stars off, though.

You still have to read between the lines to see the influence Ireland is starting to have. Made me wonder if they were starting to chicken out a bit from the path they've established, but we'll see, and I think there is something there. In the meantime, if you fancy a really funny film set in Belfast (different decade, 73 in Belfast was hell) there's always "An Everlasting Piece". But Cemetery Junction is not as petty and insignificant as some of the reviewers suggest. What exactly were they expecting? "Jane Eyre"? "War and Peace"?

I can't say I'm disappointed in this film, because with Ricky's touch few things can remain boring, or uninteresting. If you have seen Ricky interviewed about this film, he'll tell you exactly what influenced him to write and direct this film. However, unlike Invention of Lying which was pretty original, though its influences were clear, one cannot look at Cemetery junction without thinking of the many, many coming to age films he or she has seen. In other words, in his other works, Ricky's influences blend in with his originality and gave a unique product. IN cemetery junction, however, his influences take center stage and dominate the film, not allowing for a great deal of originality to shine through.

This is a solid work from Gervais, and as he says, it is a beautiful love-letter to Britain. It is truly disappointing that Gervais could not make something original out of it. Maybe, I am pursuing this point fiercely, but it is the main problem of the movie. When you look at Cemetery junction, you can not stop to think of endless other films that have pursued the same content. If you are not a big movie buff, or just like to see Gervais and Merchant you won't be disappointed, but you are not going to get a highly original work as The Office.

The acting is also decent at best. The problem with the acting is not the actors themselves, but is their over-dominance on the role. They are not comfortable in playing the characters; they over-react in ways that are truly unnecessary for this film. They all want to take center stage (the main male, central characters), and this need for dominating the role really undermines the true talent that they posses.

I walked out of the theater not disappointed, but not charmed either. I can best describe my immediate reaction as indifference; it was kind of like, "oh, I just watched a Gervais' film that was okay;" unlike the admiration that I had for his TV work or earlier films.

In addition, the music in the film and the soundtrack is very typical of seventies and eighties music. I wish Gervais had chosen varied songs, similar to Tarantino, in his film. He chooses instead a large variety of popular songs by Roxy Music, Springsteen etc. They are too familiar to truly leave an impression on the audience.

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's nostalgic comedy drama of 1970s Britain has its heart in the right place. OK, there is nothing strikingly original here – think 'The Likely Lads' meets American buddy movie spliced with stock Gervais stand-up material – but the craft of this movie lies not in breaking boundaries. Instead, it offers its audience a chance to feel the warm cosiness of familiarity.

The film charts the hopes and dreams of three friends as they seek to break out of a small, stagnating community before they end up trapped in the same dead-end lives of their parents. Their loyalty to each other forms the heart of the story, even as they come to realise that their aspirations will inevitably lead them in different directions. The motivation for their friendship relies on a genuine apprehension that there may be no escape from the stifling 50s attitude that pervades their community. This is, as they so wryly remark, a town that the Swinging Sixties passed by.

The characters work well together – there's an engaging chemistry between the three relatively unknown actors. Christian Cooke plays Freddie Taylor, the boy with a job with an insurance company, hoping to leave behind the factory work of his father. Tom Hughes is excellent as the angry, rebellious Bruce, appalled by his dad's lack of spirit yet all too aware of his own grim prospects. The trio is completed by Jack Doolan as 'Snork', the hapless station announcer looking up to the flair of his closest friends. The three leads are ably supported by a cast that includes Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson, as well as some familiar faces from the Gervais and Merchant back catalogue. A prize for anyone who spots Karl Pilkington's fetching moustache…

Whilst there are moments where the dialogue appears more than a little stilted, for the most part the action fizzes nicely between the three characters. He may only have a small role within the actual film, but Gervais' voice is clearly audible whenever there is an intelligent put-down or a comic observation. At times this intrudes on the authenticity of the characters, but generally the dialogue allows for a neat separation between Gervais' inclination towards biting comic scrutiny, and his more tempered capacity for gentle human interaction.

Including a jukebox medley of a soundtrack that includes 70s classics from, among others, David Bowie and T-Rex, the film has that reflective rose-tinted-spectacle feel that has become so familiar to us in American films, but is far less common with the British cinema industry. Perhaps it's the weighty budget behind this film that sets it apart from other recent British period pieces. Perhaps it's the ability of the directors to throw off their typical British scepticism and capture that sense of breezy reminiscence.

Whatever the answer, this is, for me, far more of an "American" film than movies such as 'Trainspotting', 'The Full Monty', or 'This Is England'. However, there is enough self-conscious humour and knowing sideways glances to make us realise that this is still a British film by a pair of British writers who, in 'The Office', gave us the best portrayal of British society for the new millennium. Gervais and Merchant have confirmed in this film that they are just about capable of making that dangerous leap from television to cinema. There is hopefully more to come, but 'Cemetery Junction' shows that their tongue-in-cheek blend of laughter and tears isn't likely to end with 'The Office' and 'Extras'.

James Gill Twitter @jg8608 Find more reviews at http://web.me.com/gilljames/Single_Admission

Cemetery Junction is one of those poor, small British towns, where the men go to work in factories and the women try to keep their kids out of jail. Freddy (Christian Cooke) wants something different; he wants to wear a suit to work, drive a Rolls Royce home to a beautiful wife and kids in a big house. He thinks this is a more noble life to live, and at least he's doing something about it.

I'm presuming this is a personal project for Ricky Gervais. The honesty and sheer accuracy of the time shine throughout the film. "Cemetery Junction" is a slice-of-life for young men growing up in poor suburbs in the 1970s. Freddy wants to get a job, his friends just want to get out. As they strive for what is supposed to be a better life, they realize the dark truths within everybody else in the town and what awaits them in their future.

"Cemetery Junction" is not the laugh-out-loud, farcical comedy that we would expect from Gervais. It's a meaningful, subtle dramedy exploring young men coming of age. And here, Gervais himself has certainly come of age as a director, we know this is 1970s England, looking poor and spectacular at the same time, and highlighting some exceptional performances by the young cast of Cooke, Tom Hughes, Matthew Goode, Jack Doolan, Emily Watson and the beautifully angelic Felicity Jones.