I feel like I've been doing a lot of talking about some heavy issues lately, which is of course a good thing. One can never talk too much about mental health but .... in the interest of preserving my own mental health I try to regularly take part in an enjoyable activity called watching movies.
Unlike many people I actually enjoy being on aeroplanes. Well, on short flights anyway. Unless you're in Business or First, a long haul to London is hardly enjoyable.
For me a plane ride is an absolutely perfect excuse to do nothing but watch movies and not feel one ounce of guilt over it. Why? Because there is nothing else to do. I can't walk the dog, do the washing or polish the silver because I am stuck in a metal tube thousands of feet in the air.
And so I chose this one, simply because it was British and starred Rose Byrne.
I Give it a Year
It received some harsh online reviews and funnily enough I agree with most of them: it's smart and shocking in parts and tries to be cliche averse but fails.
The characters are strong: Rose Byrne plays the ambitious English rose flawlessly, Rafe Spall plays her dimwit, joker husband perfectly and Simon Baker - well he plays the suave guy well. There's no change from his usual character here but it's one he plays well.
However, it was not sans cliches. The opening montage was a sign of things to come. But it is the unexpected moments and Stephen Merchant's outrageous sense of humour that saves the whole picture. Particularly his recital of how a German would have sex. I haven't laughed out loud that much in a film in a very long time.
The ending wouldn't have survived the Hollywood cutting room. That's all I'll say.
Have you seen it, what did you think?
