Sat 19 June 2004 - Midlands
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (DVD). Some good acting (Robert Carlyle is rarely not), some funny moments (particularly Ricky Tomlinson), some poignant moments. But ultimately there was something lacking in this movie, and I don’t think it was just because some of the dialects weren’t quite intelligible. For instance, after the punch-up at the end, why on earth would Dek let Jimmy take his beloved car? It didn’t ring true.
I just noticed on the back of the DVD case that not only is the obligatory review quote the rather-less-than-stellar “an excellent British film”, but this quote is credited to… wait for this… imdb.com, and turns out to be a comment from a film-goer in Wales. Evidently no professional reviewer said anything good enough.
Maybe it lost something in the translation. From my point of view, perhaps it could have been a great film, but it didn’t quite make it.