Lawless Heart on DVD (2001)

About people

A customer from Winchester , 22/05/2005

Yes, it isn't about helicopter chases or expensive sets, neither is it driven by the location scouts (though the location is perfect), this is a film about seeing the same world from different points of view, feeling about the same situation in different ways, and it works. Splintered it may be, narratively, but it all rotates around a warmly growing sense of emotional depth and therefore holds together in a way that more than justifies the non-linear approach. Not a gimmick, but the only way to have reached what the film strives to reach and does. Lovely performances all round. My only complaint is that Sukie Smith has, subsequently, been so under-used by a UK film industry that needs the sort of great actress that she undoubtedly is.

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An absorbing film about love,loyalties & lust and the reconcilliation of the past with the present

A customer from Pontefract ,England , 24/07/2004

The essence of this film is an intricately woven story of three males brought together through the death of a mutual friend. The story sees each of them in turn examining and reassessing their lives past and present. Some excellent understated performances from Bill Nighy & Tom Hollander add to the enjoyment of this absorbing tale of love ,lust and loyalties and how each of them have arrived at their present individual circumstances and the decisions they should take about what the future holds for them.

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fiona#1 from WHITSTABLE , 14/10/2003

This gentle comedy-drama tells the stories of three very different men, their lives linked by another man whose funeral we are attending as the film starts - Dan, the brother-in-law, Nick, the boyfriend, and Tim, the cousin. While the three stories unfold simultaneously, they are told consecutively, so we get to see several episodes three times, each time from a different perspective, a device which is used to manipulate the way we feel about different characters at different times, and to help us understand their motivations and feelings by showing how they interpret events and situations differently. It's a fairly ambitious trick to attempt and unfortunately it doesn't always come off - the end effect is often just a bit messy, though the 'plot' is easy enough to follow. There are some decent performances, notably from the always excellent Bill Nighy as Dan, and some great dialogue, such as Dan chatting up the French florist at the funeral. In fact, Dan has all the best lines. In the end, none of the characters have really moved on from where they were at the start of the film, and that's really the point of the story - life is like that, especially when you live in a small rural farming community. The problem is that while this kind of material is often highly entertaining in the hands of someone like Mike Leigh, here it is strangely unsatisfying. Still, it's a nicely made film with enough enjoyable moments to make it worth watching.

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Four Affairs and a Funeral

A customer from Seaton, Devon , 13/05/2005

In the extras, one of the actresses says they laughed a lot reading the script but the film turned out more serious than expected. Some good laughs and lots of entertaining characters. Bill Nighy is very amusing in his interview.

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fiona#1 from WHITSTABLE , 14/10/2003

This gentle comedy-drama tells the stories of three very different men, their lives linked by another man whose funeral we are attending as the film starts - Dan, the brother-in-law, Nick, the boyfriend, and Tim, the cousin. While the three stories unfold simultaneously, they are told consecutively, so we get to see several episodes three times, each time from a different perspective, a device which is used to manipulate the way we feel about different characters at different times, and to help us understand their motivations and feelings by showing how they interpret events and situations differently. It's a fairly ambitious trick to attempt and unfortunately it doesn't always come off - the end effect is often just a bit messy, though the 'plot' is easy enough to follow. There are some decent performances, notably from the always excellent Bill Nighy as Dan, and some great dialogue, such as Dan chatting up the French florist at the funeral. In fact, Dan has all the best lines. In the end, none of the characters have really moved on from where they were at the start of the film, and that's really the point of the story - life is like that, especially when you live in a small rural farming community. The problem is that while this kind of material is often highly entertaining in the hands of someone like Mike Leigh, here it is strangely unsatisfying. Still, it's a nicely made film with enough enjoyable moments to make it worth watching.

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Four Affairs and a Funeral

A customer from Seaton, Devon , 13/05/2005

In the extras, one of the actresses says they laughed a lot reading the script but the film turned out more serious than expected. Some good laughs and lots of entertaining characters. Bill Nighy is very amusing in his interview.

Read all highest rated reviews