Once Upon A Time In The Midlands Review
by Mark R. Leeper (markrleeper AT yahoo DOT com)April 14th, 2003
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: This is a love-triangle comedy-drama set
in the Scottish Midlands. The always-watchable
Robert Carlyle and Rhys Ifans play men hoping to
win the affections of the same woman. One uses
force and the other must cope. As the villain of
the piece and the more interesting actor, most
attention is on Carlyle. Rating: 6 (0 to 10),
+1 (-4 to +4)
The idea to use the tropes of the Italian Spaghetti Westerns like ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST for a comedy set in the midlands of Scotland is an audacious one. Unfortunately, the payoff is not as great as it should have been. Don't trust me on this film because a lot of what was being said was in a much thicker Scottish accent than my America-bred ear was attuned to.
Shane Meadows co-wrote and directed this story of a romantic triangle. Somehow it has more of the feel of a TV-movie than a theatrical film. Two men are in love with Shirley (Shirley Henderson). One is the good-hearted garage owner Dek (Rhys Ifans). The other is a smalltime hood named Jimmy (Robert Carlyle). Jimmy is the father of Shirley's twelve-year-old daughter. When he decides he wants to start acting as a father he is ready and happy to knock out the competition.
John Lunn has attempted to give the score an Italian Western sound but is only semi-successful. The style is little more than situation comedy and while there are whimsical things that happen in the course of the film the film is really mostly just a time- filler than a film with solid human insights. It is hard to get really enthusiastic about a family whose main leisure time activity is watching bad television, as we are shown on multiple occasions. I rate it a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
[email protected]
Copyright 2003 Mark R. Leeper
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