Absolutely blown away. Blubbered my eyes out, half of the people in the cinema did. Not even a boxing film really, only one fight in it, but people who are fans will probably appreciate a few familiar faces. It feels pretty authentic. Don’t let the central premise put you off.
Should probably say that despite being a huge fan of boxing i think fiction films about it have probably only been exhausted more than gangster films. Went to watch this one primarily because of the casting of Jodie Whittaker, who’s brilliant, and because you’re pretty much guaranteed a good performance from Considine, and because it’s a bit of a fresh take on standard films about boxers. The little nuances he brings to the part after the injury are pretty astonishing.
Really excited about him as a director. His first film, Tyrannosaur, had Eddie Marsan, Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan in, and whilst the latter’s been in a fair bit of shite they’re all, same for Whittaker and Considine himself, pretty similar in that at their best they all have this natural believable sadness to them when they play serious parts.
If i had to have a slight quibble it’d be that a couple of the secondary castings lack something. Does feel like the second half of the film gets a bit…Where The Heart Is after a pretty intense a claustraphobic first half, bit overall it’s the finest British film i’ve seen in a few years and one of the most personable i’ve seen full stop.
Go to the flicks and watch this, and get yourself a secondhand copy of Dead Man’s Shoes off Ebay for a couple of quid. If you don’t like either i’ll give you the money myself. He also played a fucking frightening corrupt Irish priest in the last but one series of Peaky Blinders.
I’m going to be honest with you in saying that I will never watch a single thing he’s been in. Sound for the recommendations boss, some other feens will definitely benefit from them.
Very little interest in films. I only watch them if the missus wants to watch one or my housemates are watching one. It’s a medium I’ve never cared about. Music has been the overwhelming influence in my life since I was thirteen and that’s never going to change.
See, obviously that was pretty shocking but it didn’t move me anywhere near as much as several other scenes, like where he first passes out - how they filmed that with her in the kitchen was excellent - and the scene where he’s stood at the window and she phones him, fucking hell, i think i whelped.
Is it violent? I presume so.
One of the reasons that I no longer watch films is the ubiquitous “Contains scenes of extreme violence”
Now, call me weird, but i don’t want to watch ‘scenes of extreme violence’.
Didn’t he kick a dog to death in ‘Tyrannosaur’?
Sorry, but i don’t ever want to see that.
Apologies, rant over. Nowt personal.
I really want to see this but it’s unlikely I’m going to make it to the cinema for it. I’ll pick it up on DVD instead. Considine doing a boxing movie is pretty much an ideal match for me.
It’s not overly violent. He does slap his wife at one point when he’s in the very worst throes of the brain injury. It’s quite an important scene, she’s basically has to teach him to walk, talk and go to the toilet again, so it probably has to be viewed in the context of that and, and there’s a short boxing match at the start.
I’ve a bit of a man-crush on Paddy Considine, I will watch anything he’s involved with. I hadn’t realised this was already out though and it’s already finished playing in my local arthouse place but it looks brilliant.
