Festival

The Edinburgh Festival deserves a film. It is a strange occasion in a great city, and huge numbers of people around the world have experienced it. It brings its own array of bizarre characters and situations, mixing them with the locals, and then takes them away again just as quickly, until next year when some of them come back for more. If that's not a recipe for some interesting comedy/drama, I don't know what is.

Unfortunately this film fails to hit the mark. It is structured quite well, and I liked the idea of following one venue through the course of its day. The overall atmosphere of the city is well-caught too, on the whole, and people who know Edinburgh in August will recognise it.

But its main flaw is lack of empathy. There are quite a lot of characters, some of whom are quite funny, but very few of whom are particularly likable and attractive. Those who are likable often lack authenticity, and everyone suffers from a lack of depth. The episodic plot is also patchy - some of the events that befall certain characters have nothing at all to do with the Edinburgh Festival and seem almost to have been put in as time-fillers.

To be fair, there are some funny moments and quite a few good lines. But put it this way: If it's on TV and not costing you anything, then by all means watch it. However, I paid £3 to rent it, and by the end I felt it wasn't really worth the money.

Being from Edinburgh and suffering/enjoying the International Festival & Fringe for many years this film was always going to be of great interest to me. I did expect it to be dreadful, as so many UK-produced efforts can be, but actually ended-up enjoying large parts of it.

Edinburgh during the festival can be a strange place for the natives - the city is descended upon by hordes of media-types and desperate actors/comedians/whatever. During this time many locals will simply let out their flats at exorbitant rates and go on holiday thereby avoiding the whole rather disagreeable event.

With Festival you can play 'which celeb comedian is that meant to be' as well as 'which pub are they in' and 'where's that again' - being a local helps and you get the same familiar sense of enjoyment as when reading Ian Rankin's Rebus series (also set in Edinburgh.) The acting is good and there are some genuinely funny moments although the dialogue can be quite weak in places.

By miles, the worst element in this film is the music. It's intrusive, adds nothing to the drama and on occasions completely ruins the scene.

All-in-all if you're not from Edinburgh, Festival is hugely entertaining and will probably make you want to come here for next year's ever - if you need somewhere to stay I've got a lovely flat near the Assembly Rooms...

I made a mistake and don't want my comment submitted

don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit, don't submit

If you think actors have only good live you must watching this,really enjoy that

Ok. More fun location spotting than watching the film. Not even that redolent of a late summer in Edinburgh. A lot of actors under used. Nothing fleshed out, no one particularly interesting. Very superficial. Doesn't add up to much. Ultimately a bit pointless. If art is this depressing why bother?