I expected this film to be about restless teenagers escaping their small town, and while this is generally what the film is about, most of the film is spent setting the scene.
Set in 1970's Reading, the story follows three young men living life as they've always done (graffiti, bar fights, womanising), desperate to make something of themselves and not end up like their parents.
I'm pretty indifferent to Ricky Gervais so I'm sure people who like his work would probably enjoy this more than I did. However, there are strong performances from the largely unknown younger cast, as well as some very funny dialogue (the exaggerated, Daily-Mail grandma is particularly brilliant). Merchant/Gervais have created a nostalgic portrait of small-town life but this never really gets going the way it could. I suppose you could say that it's not meant to get going, that it's meant to reflect the static nature of their lives, but it starts to drag in the latter half of film. The cast is excellent though; as usual, Ralph Fiennes is a wonderful villain, with subtle underplaying from Emily Watson as his oppressed wife.
However, I really couldn't stand Felicity Jones' horribly clichéd hippie-photographer and I thought the lingering close shots of the main characters looking purposeful and serious was kind of self-indulgent/unnecessary.
In short, I did find this film relatively enjoyable, albeit quite slow paced, but I wouldn't watch it again.
Set in 1970's Reading, the story follows three young men living life as they've always done (graffiti, bar fights, womanising), desperate to make something of themselves and not end up like their parents.
I'm pretty indifferent to Ricky Gervais so I'm sure people who like his work would probably enjoy this more than I did. However, there are strong performances from the largely unknown younger cast, as well as some very funny dialogue (the exaggerated, Daily-Mail grandma is particularly brilliant). Merchant/Gervais have created a nostalgic portrait of small-town life but this never really gets going the way it could. I suppose you could say that it's not meant to get going, that it's meant to reflect the static nature of their lives, but it starts to drag in the latter half of film. The cast is excellent though; as usual, Ralph Fiennes is a wonderful villain, with subtle underplaying from Emily Watson as his oppressed wife.
However, I really couldn't stand Felicity Jones' horribly clichéd hippie-photographer and I thought the lingering close shots of the main characters looking purposeful and serious was kind of self-indulgent/unnecessary.
In short, I did find this film relatively enjoyable, albeit quite slow paced, but I wouldn't watch it again.