Second Coming

I am a big fan of the Film Movement series and my wife is a huge fan of Idris Elba so we both had great expectations for this movie. Unfortunately it became clear early on that the outline of the plot lacked development. It was shallow and the lead actress,Nadine Marshall failed to add depth to what was obviously meant to be a complex character study.

The movie opened and failed to develop many sub-plot lines which involved potential martial issues as well as mental state of mind. This is a very shallow and disappointing movie.

A word about Film Movement, I do not understand their reluctance to add sub-titles to movies with difficult accents such as the combined West Indian cockney used by the main characters. We don't think that would change our opinion of this movie but we missed 50 percent of the words.

I found this film quite unique and it describes a situation that isn't as uncommon as you'd think. It takes place in North London, an afro caribbean family consisting of a railway engineer(Idris Elba), a benefits office worker, and their son, a thoughtful little boy who loves nature. You are treated to the usual banter between husband and wife, happy Sunday lunches with grandparents, scenes at the boy's classroom, all very normal and familiar.

In the midst of this cosiness we have the wife wrestling with a dilemma - it's all very subtle and you have to keep guessing what it is, because a lot of the conversation between her and her best friend is conducted in half sentences, much of it unsaid, it was perplexing, but it all added to the mystery of the film. You are left guessing until the very end. All very beautifully acted.

The only bum note was Nicola Walker ( normally one of my top 5 actresses) playing a psychotherapist and doing such a rotten job of it. Inexcusable, maybe she hadn't had much acting experience when this film was made.

Lols at the last scene taking us all the way back to the title!

Not only did I have problems understanding the actors throughout the entire movie, I felt that there needed to be more explanation about what was actually happening. Basically, even though I've watched this movie, all I know about this film's plot is what I read on the back of the DVD box:

"Busy working parents Mark and Jackie have not been intimate with each other in several months, so when Jackie discovers she is pregnant, it comes as an inexplicable shock to all. Jackie insists she's been faithful, but Mark reacts with rage, knowing the baby can't possibly be his. As the unnerving side effects of Jackie's condition worsen, will this seeming miracle bring the family closer together or tear them apart?"

In my opinion, that last question remains unanswered. Did the husband and wife get a divorce? Are they still married? Are they separated? What does the husband, or ex- husband, think of his wife/ex-wife? Inquiring minds want to know.

If I'd paid money to see this film, I'd be feeling pretty angry right now. As it is, I rented it for free from my local library so my only regret is that my ears are still ringing due to the fact that I kept having to increase the volume of my television in order to try and understand what the actors were saying. Needless to say, I am very disappointed!

I'm sorry but I just cannot get into this movie at all. I had a lot of hope for it based on the synopsis but it isn't grabbing my attention at all and I can not get engaged in this movie not to mention that I'm having trouble understanding what they are saying. The British accents are pretty thick I guess and is also very slow pace. It's not something I think I can even finish watching. Usually if a movie does not grab my attention by at least the 1st half hour it's not going to and at that point I'm not going to give it chance to... so sorry.

Whilst I have to admit that I like films without a clear plot, and I have to admit that this films dialogue is hard to understand. I feel the film reflects the source material well. If your tuning into this film expecting to see Heimdal or Luther you will be disappointed. This is a character study if how the second coming would effect the people adound it.