Heartlands

I was recommended this film by a chap who doesn't watch a lot of films, so i expected it to be not great. However I really enjoyed it,the film reminded me of a book that i read called the alchemist, which was about a boy who is searching for something and realises at the end that he had already found through the journey what he was looking for.

This film has a very similar premise and thats what the film is about the journey to blackpool, how you can change your life in a small amount of time and how you can learn things from other people.

All the characters in the film are warm and all have a different perception on life. The main character also seems to learn something from each of them. Its quite a clever little film. If you've seen everything you want to see then give this film a chance I reckon you'll like it

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.

At first sight this seemed to be one of those cheapo, feature-length, depressing British films that I have grown accustomed to over the past few years.

I could not have been further off the mark. The characters were lovable, even if they weren't very realistic. The acting was very natural, and each scene was shot beautifully.

I had not seen the Hero's Journey narrative used in this context before, but it worked well. Aided by the original Folk music score by Kate Rusby and John McCusker, the beautiful montages, and the unexpected resolution, this film brought a few tears to my eyes, and made me feel content.

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!