Shopping de nuit

These days, the majority of people on earth watch American films, which are quite often filled with action and / or effects. There are of course films about ordinary life, like American Beauty, which attract major attention, but are there any else? Does the film industry consist of films full of action and effects and a few simple made, though qualitatively good films? Are all good films made in America? The answer to those questions are No and No!!! There are films, that do manage to entertain without big effects and explosions. Some of them are made in America and remain virtually unknown like Finding Forrester. But there are also a number of good and simply made European films, that never get the attention they deserve. Hereby I must add that the level of attention European films get is even lower than the attention that is given to simply made American films (unless it is some sort of HIT film). Late Night Shopping is one of those European films that deals with ordinary life, but does it manage to entertain? Before I get to that though, I must tell you, that this movie is targeted at a late teen / young adult audience, which is not a bad thing, but Since I've seen the film I must tell you, that this film will not be enjoyed by many persons not belonging to the target audience.

Late night shopping, is about four youngsters Jody, Vincent, Sean and Lenny who all work graveyard shifts. After work these ‘acquaintances' meet in a café to talk about their daily hassles. There it is, that we meet those four persons that will dictate the next 91 minutes of our life. In the course of the film, a lot becomes clear, about the personalities of the characters, but this film is more than a character study. It also shows the development and of true friendship. I'd like to quote Vincent here, standing on a miniature golf course with Lenny, but I do not want to spoil your viewing experience. Of course I realized, that nothing much happens in this film. I noticed that it contains a lot of pointless behavior, like sitting in a café, talking or riding around in the car with no particular place to go, but aren't those pointless routines, what make life enjoyable? Isn't it great to be able to do nothing special with your friends and having fun at the same time?

By know, I might have you thinking, that this is the best film of all times, well it is entertaining, but it isn't that good. I mean, the actors, the story and the music are all good, without any ground breaking achievements, but what really made the difference between this being a pretty good film and a good film, was the director I think. I feel, that if he had paced and directed this movie just a notch better, it would have done the trick and this film would have been good. Now it is just pretty good. I know some people might argue that the ‘soap scenes' are idiotic, but they didn't bother me at all. As far as pointless films go this one holds up pretty well, despite not being able to match itself with Mallrats or Chasing Amy (which are both American films by the way).

7 out of 10

I've seen some pretty unfair reviews of this film and I don't think they're justified at all. There seems to be a lot of fixation around the credibility of relationships and plots blah, blah but I found my brain negotiated it's way around that because the dialogue sort of sweeps you along. It was a bit of a guys movie, and if you liked Swingers then you'll love this and it has to be said there was much laughing in the cinema where I watched it, I was actually sitting in front an entire half row of blokes and they loved every second of it, definitely a good night out for the boys. If I had any real criticism of this film I'd say the female characters were a bit weak and any observations made about the female experience only bordered on insightful but then again that didn't bother me that much because I was fairly engaged with the rest of the film. It's got flaws, find me a film that hasn't but as I understand it this was the writer and the directors first feature and with that in mind I thought Late Night Shopping was an excellent debut for both of them and I look forward to seeing whatever they do next.

With a few exceptions, British films of the past few years seem to have forgotten about the audience. Here's a new Brit flick that doesn't try to be gritty, ultra-violent, clever or just a showcase for film-makers who are more concerned with a stylistic wish list, than actually caring about the punter that's given up his evening and a fair wedge of cash to watch their effort.

Smart, witty and often laugh-out-loud funny, here's a comedy that builds upon emotions that we can all relate to. It's set in the twilight world that only shift-workers ever see. Our characters not only inhabit it, but are striving to make friends and eke out some kind of love life in it too.

Problem is, how is a serial one-night stand merchant, a guy too scared to check if he still has a girlfriend, a bloke with 'porno reactions' and a girl who has long since lost any daytime friends, ever going to find success? These social 'misfits' become increasingly endearing as their separate attempts to carve out romance all intertwine into a hilarious finish that's an absolute delight.

Short, snappy and a film with characters that you soon yearn to watch again, this is a smart Brit comedy that's a must-see.

Most of the votes for this film are 7-10 yet most of the comments are lukewarm to hostile, which baffles me as I found it consistently enjoyable, intelligently scripted and very well acted. The only disappointment was that, although recognisably filmed in Glasgow, it appears to be set in some non-specific English city in which none-the-less all the minor characters have Scots accents. Despite this I gave it a 9.

I saw the film at the Stockholm filmfestval and i absolutely loved it. The director was there to present the film, and appologised for the misuse of music in the film, in the hilarious scene when foriginers is on the radio in the car and impossible to shut off. The story is thin but the excellent dialog is the best thing about it. The irony and british humour is splendid, and the actor are doing a good job. + for the beautiful Sienna Guillory. To be disturbed by small things as how Vincent could know where his friends were going is a sign of a person not feeling well. Ever heard of fiction?