The Friday Encourager: Keeping The British End Up
Just wanted to give a bit of encouragement for a couple of Brit flicks this week that didn’t seem to get the love for some reason. Both only took about £600,000 at the UK box office in their first weekend, debuting and 5 and 6 respectively in the UK box office top 10, but both are great movies (worth an 8/10 each on my scale). So if they’re playing near you this weekend, then do give one or the other a chance if you haven’t already.
‘Tamara Drewe’ is on the surface another of the tradition of soft British romantic comedies, but this takes its steer from the Guardian stories on which it’s based and lurking beneath the soft and cuddly sheen are darker and more interesting tendencies. An all-round excellent cast complement the solid script and Stephen Frears’ direction keeps everything ticking along very efficiently, juggling numerous sub-plots before wrapping everything together for the conclusion.
Made in Dagenham, on the other hand, is much more conventional at its core, but is an exceptionally well-made tale based on the true story of the minority of female workers at a Ford plant and their efforts to get equality for themselves and their colleagues. Sally Hawkins is the stand-out in the lead role, ably supported by the likes of Bob Hoskins and Miranda Richardson, this is honest, heart-warming and if it is a smidgen predictable, that actually adds to its comfort.
With the UK Film Council soon to be a thing of the past, we should all be supporting quality British product, and I can only assume that it’s poor marketing that has contributed to the difficulties of these in finding an audience. Let me put your mind at rest, either of these will be worth two hours of your time, so if you still have an opportunity, make it British this week.
The Movie Evangelist 