Era uma Vez uma Família

Brilliantly observed comic scenes of working class domestic life, reminiscent of Caroline Aherne's superb 'Royle Family' sitcom, provide the backdrop for an engaging comedy-drama. All the main actors turn in typically excellent, albeit unsurprising performances: Robert Carlyle does a variation on his Scottish psycho-crim (see 'Trainspotting'), Ricky Tomlinson plays another genial but feckless Scouser (see 'The Royle Family') and Kathy Burke does her no-nonsense council-house Cockney routine (see Kathy Burke). By far the best of the ensemble is Rhys Ifans as Dek. Dek is the most rounded of the comic characters, all of whom are neatly sketched out, not just by dialogue, but by carefully chosen background details. Look out for the hub caps and model car collection in Dek's house and the cases of 'Pot Noodle' in Charlie's loo (which also serves as his office). Assured direction, a well-paced script and some very funny jokes make for a satisfying if somewhat predictable watch.

The hidden theme in this film is insipid. The daughter Marlene is the adult, while her parents, Jimmy and Shirley, are still children. Jimmy's primary school labeled him the toughest little booger in his class, and he still absurdly relishes the role. Shirley is a silly oversized thirteen-year-old who has two boys interested in her, and she flits back and forth between them as her adolescent whims take her. However, Marlene (the chronological child) is the adult who knows exactly what's best for all. Dek is also a grown-up: responsible, hard-working and kind, although naive.

Near the end Marlene wants to run away with Dek. This wasn't a bad idea. Allowing for another ten years or so for Marlene to come of age, the two of them might have been a very happy, stable couple.

I generally like Shane Meadows, his honest writing and depiction of what early 21st century average life in Britain is actually like, is both appealing and refreshing.

This one (I re-watched after many years and seen all his later work) is just a bit of a tangled mess (hence my summary title). It was great to watch the great Kathy Burke in a dominant (yes!) role now that she's concentrating on theatre direction these days. Also, her screen hubbie, a rather ridiculous wannabe country singer in the shape of Ricky Tomlinson.

Robert Carlyle plays to form as a real piece of ***t who is after getting his ex back. I soon found his constant shouting, swearing and nastiness wearying and Ryhs Ifans' counter example, as poor Shirley Henderson's dopey, lily-livered 'boyfriend' equally annoying. I wanted to shout out loud 'forget them both', but this being drama, the opposite happens of course.

The lighter moments, I suppose were intended to punctuate this domestic misery with an air of humanity. But, most of the time, they look stupidly careless, leaving you unsure whether they were intentional, or not. I did like the overall premise, especially at the end, when the subversive comparison to the classic western becomes apparent, though the setting is a modern English city's housing estate over a hundred years later. The Sierra Cosworth being the equivalent of a wild stallion...?

Meadow's work, though, is always of much merit and the fact that he has gotten himself a niche and etched himself a position on that elite panel of independent Brit directors whose work is admired equally by critics and public alike, is to be much admired. It also means that this quite early offering from him is still above average.

Shane Meadows' first film, 'TwentyFour Seven', was dark, intense and arty; his second, 'A Room for Romeo Brass', is one my favourite movies, atmospheric, wildly funny and moving. But this, his third film, is not quite as brilliant, and indeed Meadows has acknowledged it as something of a wrong turn. Compared to it's predecessors, the mood is less claustrophobic, the humour a bit broader brush, and ultimately the movie is less poignant. Perhaps part of the problem is that whereas one of the highlights of Meadows' earlier films were the brilliant performances he coaxed out of largely unknown actors (Bob Hoskins was just about the only name of note in them), this film features a regular gallery of Brit-acting talent: Robert Carlyle, Kathy Burke, Ricky Tomslinson and Rhys Ifans. And while I have enjoyed movies featuring all of these actors, it's a bit hard, especially in the case of Tomlinson, to really see them in their roles, as opposed to as themselves. Sometimes, they almost seem to be performing too hard to fit into Meadows' sparsely filmed backdrops. One can also note that the cod-western theme is pursued with insufficient vigour to really define the movie. I don't want to be too harsh on the film overall, because there are still some very funny moments and excellent acting from Shirley Henderson and the young Finn Atkins. But it's certainly less ambitious than its two predecessors, which set the highest of standards by which to judge their successors.

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands seems to make naming your film 'Once Upon a Time in.....' seem like a bit of a gimmick. Indeed, a year earlier Robert Rodriquez was left floundering with his over the top, epic tail of mediocrity named 'Mexico' but 'Midlands' does not make the same mistakes and nor does it ever veer too far over the line of 'big budget television drama'. However, if it doesn't veer too far over the line that's not to say it does not veer over the line at all, because it does and truth is; 'Midlands' is a pretty ordinary film.

The film can either be a big budget TV drama or a small budget film; like I said, it becomes a little too much of the former for my liking and thus fails as an engaging and intriguing tail of love, loss and family values. In fact, what it ends up as is a story that comes; sticks around and then goes again with a disappointing anticlimax and a series of scenes that remain interesting given the situation but lack any atmosphere. The story revolves around a man, named Jimmy (Carlyle), as he returns to where he once lived upon seeing a live (those things are broadcast live?) daytime chat show in order to seek out the one he loved and fathered a child with – she is Shirley (Henderson). Trouble is, times have changed and she has moved on; she's with Dek (Ifans), a well respected but somewhat eccentric mechanic. The problem is with this idea, albeit a brilliant one, is that Jimmy is shown as a far too good-a person to make us want to hate him and Dek is put across as a far too funny-a person to make us want to think he is up for the challenge; thus it is no surprise when the film meanders and wonders around in a bit of a daze.

It is true to say that the opening scene focuses on Jimmy as he lies there, lost and unhappy we feel; but he is then shown to be a bit of a lad; a bit of a criminal as he and three Glaswegian thieves steal a case of money from four clowns. Even then, we can empathise with the thief in Jimmy because the heist scene is funny and why would four clowns get out of a Ford Galaxy whilst carrying a case full of money? Whatever they did, it seems they might have deserved what they got. So, so far we have spent time with Jimmy: the film could have gone down two routes: 1; make him seem evil and give him antagonistic traits meaning that when he comes for Shirley, we will be wary of him. Or 2; do not show him at all so that the impact of this rough looking guy who has shown up wanting to be together with Shirley again is a jolt to the audience and character alike – 'Midlands' does neither, it makes Jimmy look like an ordinary guy, like a 'lad'; harmless yet humorous.

But what the film does isn't necessarily bad, just a little out of place. On the flip side; Dek, at least to me, came off as a bit of an eccentric and out of sorts guy who did not embody the traits required if he was going to be a hero of any sorts. Consequently, any scene in which he and Jimmy face off or are put in a location together should be filled with tension as a perhaps evil, Scottish criminal and an upstanding but strong hero come face to face – what we get is a misunderstood, comic Jimmy and a wimp of a hero Dek, in an office, having an anti-climatic square off. Secondly, Jimmy really could've been established as a psycho with a few scenes in which Jimmy is perhaps stalking Shirley or drawing attention to himself through anti-social and foreboding behaviour but what we get is a couple of silly scenes at his sister's house but a good scene when she tells him what's what, however that further deflates any menace about him because there and then, the 'villain' is beaten and by his own sister, too This shows us he is vulnerable.

So onto the supporting characters; the sister is Carol (Burke) who does a lot of shouting and screaming in that annoying accent Kathy Burke carries; her husband Charlie (Tomlinson) is an introduced but underdeveloped folk singer that doesn't have much to do; the girl in question the two leads are fighting for, Shirley, is a one dimensional character who speaks as if she has something stuck in her throat and just when the film's crucible gets interesting when the Glaswegians come back for Jimmy, they disappear after one failed ambush but don't worry, they're there at the end in time for a 'funny' scene on the motorway and the running joke that they steal every car they drive feels out of place. So, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands feels anti-climatic; it feels empty in its atmosphere and development of its already familiar characters and it certainly ends in a disappointing manner leaving you with a feeling of 'So, what was all that for?' When you are supposed to feel anger, suspense, joy, fear or anything else; you'll feel nothing and that is a shame as it was a good idea, just executed a little heavy-handedly.