Skeletons

I came across this totally by accident and was very surprised there hadn't been more of a buzz about this great film. Best film I have seen for a long time and it must be one of the best ever British films. Creates a weirdly familiar alternative universe which we accept despite ourselves. Very original. Proof that you don't need a big budget or star names to create an interesting, amusing and very successful film. This deserves to be seen by a large audience. It isn't fast paced but the lack of exposition keeps it rolling along nicely. The acting is excellent and for a first time director this is amazingly well imagined and put together. I'm looking forward to the director's next effort.

Things start out oddly in this film – and it is a way that they pretty much continues for the rest of the film. We join two odd British characters who take the service they provide to clients around the UK with all the enthusiasm and customer-care that you would expect from travelling service people quite tired of their lot. The service they provide, we gradually learn, is to extract secrets from the psychic channels in the house for people who want all their skeletons out of their closet. It is an odd skill and one which the bitter Simon abuses as he spends his free time accessing the warm, safe memories he has rather than living in the moment. When their boss gives them an unusual job, they come up against challenges, but solving them could prove to be worse.

Although it takes a minute to get a grip on what is happening, I did like the way that the film doesn't do a lot of exposition for the viewer but rather lets us work it out by watching. Likewise I liked that the detail of the how's and what's was just left there along with the technical dialogue – because in a way these things don't really matter once you have the idea. And it is a good idea and it does translate into a nice film that is interesting throughout. Sadly that's where my descriptive words tail off because I wasn't left with much more than that. I did "like" the film but yet not as much as I had hoped and it never went beyond being "interested" in it – it didn't ever move me or excite me.

I know for some that the oddity of it all will be part of the reasons they love it but for me that was not enough and I found myself waiting for the film to deliver on these interesting concepts and odd atmosphere. It kinda does but again only in a way that is oddly interesting, not brilliant or really engaging. As a drama I wanted it to have more to move me or hold my attention. As a comedy it is gently comic but never more than this. Like I said, it is an odd film whose downfall is that it is odd to the point that this oddity is the only quality where one feels it is delivering on to its fullest potential. It is hard to describe and I'm sure those that love the film will rage at me but I've not really been able to find any comments by people who love this film that do not include a lot about how "wonderfully odd" it is or similar comments about how refreshing it is and how much better than Hollywood etc etc. Different can be good but different is mostly just different.

The performances are great though. Adamsdale and Buckley are both good together and also produce odd characters without losing sight of them being real people at heart – they are not played for laughs because of who they are, although the laughs may come. They are matched in their weirdness by Isaacs, Middleton, Steen and a few others, all of whom do good work and seem to judge their performances well for the material and tone of the film, I just wished the material had been a little stronger in terms of what the film was trying to do with the ideas (beyond being odd).

So Skeletons turns out to be an interesting little curio that has good ideas and a very odd and comic tone. It doesn't produce a lot of laughs, drama, thrills or emotion though and, as much as I liked the weird feel and the plot, I did keep wanting it to delivery something else to me – but it is something that (if you haven't already guessed) I'm struggling to put my finger on.

I was really surprised upon watching this film on the BBC. It was intriguing and highly worth a view. The casting was great, and considering the low budget, the filming was superb and really drew me in. The suspense really builds up in the film and so you really don't know what to expect as the film progresses. I loved the rapport between the two male leads. I think it is one of the best British films I have seen in years. It is a shame that it didn't reach a wider audience, although I guess the humour wouldn't be to everyone's taste. I'm going to recommend it to all my friends to check out. I hope the writer/director makes some more films.

Most films with high concept values require a Herculean level of suspension of disbelief to prevent the what-ifs becoming a ceaseless stream of yeah-rights.

Quite often, a movie concept to which a viewer is asked to subscribe turns out to be poorly conceived and badly constructed. The movie then suffers from something I like to call China Syndrome: The concept is as far fetched as a bucket of chit from China.

Skeletons, although possessed of one of the most original move concepts I've ever seen, right from the opening scene, presents its concept in such a matter of fact and unassuming manner that the viewer is instantly on board. Even if, initially, you won't have a clue what's going on you will know that whatever is happening is happening for a reason and the world will somehow be a better place because of it.

Although many strange, unexplained and downright bizarre things happen in the film there wasn't, for me, any moment or event I felt required further questioning, it all seemed so natural and even the really odd things I couldn't immediately figure out were, in the context of the concept, sure to have an obvious and easily justifiable answer.

Brilliantly cast with excellent directing and if you don't 'get' Skeletons you have to understand, it's not the film, it is most probably you. Maybe there's something blocking your ability to enjoy stuff. Perhaps you ought to call someone in ?

9/10

There are a fair number of brilliant, unusual, quirky films out there. Some of them are very well known, like Field of Dreams. Others not quite as well known such as like Little Miss Sunshine, The Station Agent, Shaolin Soccer, etc, etc. The thing that all of those films have in common, is that no matter how odd the story, and context, the characters are those whom you can care about and emotionally invest in. And they tackle big themes like loss and redemption, moral complexity etc in a way which is ultimately cathartic and uplifting. Skeletons, is as brilliant and enjoyable as any of the aforementioned films. All of the actors are superb, and the unusual story is captivating from beginning to end. A hidden and delightful gem.