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So, I missed
the first two minutes of Once Upon A Time In The Midlands.
The actors
I saw on screen during the credits, Ricky Tomlinson
and Kathy Burke, were enough to make me want to stay.
But then, I saw Rhys Ifans, Robert Carlyle
and Shirley Henderson and I figured that I was in good
hands.
And “good”
is the proper word. Once
Upon A Time In the Midlands is another well-made piffle.
Cute, funny, good enough.
It’s hard to imagine that OUATITM is good enough to
make much of an impact in the U.S. in its Sony Classics release,
but I suspect that the price was right and that the video
rights will assure profit domestically on their own.
It’s a pretty
basic story… Ifans is Dek, a milquetoast but loving husband
to single mother Shirley, played by Shirley Henderson.
Carlyle is the macho ex who is inspired to return to
his wife and daughter after four years away.
Tomlinson and Burke are Shirley’s in-laws - Burke is
Carlyle’s sister in the film – who remain close to Shirley
while being as distant as could be from Carlyle. Current comfortable love and passionate mad
love conflict.
Nice movie. Good performances all around. Nothing too special. I didn’t see Bend It Like Beckham yet,
but I still like it better.
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