Nov 27, 2012

Sightseers [2012]


Back in September, at the FDA showcase event in London, I had the chance to watch Sightseers, a very interesting, quite distinct film, directed by Ben Wheatley (of Kill List fame), and written by the two leading actors, Alice Lowe and Steve Oram. It tells the macabre story of a couple who go on a romantic cross-country trip, only for her to discover Chris is a serial killer.

You have to see Sightseers- it's one of the best, most creative and funny movies I have seen in a while, despite its violence and gory details. The script is a definite highlight of the film- it features realistic and approachable characters in strange, highly unlikely situations, and most of all, it tells a story. What I admired most about the script was the perfect mix between darkness/violence and humor  done in a funny way, but also balancing it properly to create a good film to watch.

One of the other things I liked about Sightseers is the fact we can see a definite transformation, on both accounts, especially personality wise, although the action is also thrilling. The man tries to adapt and hide his condition, but ultimately can't hide back his true nature, while the woman starts as an innocent person, who is faced with a horrifying truth and has to decide what to do next- her future actions are quite shocking. The two actors, Alice and Steve, work perfectly together and deliver their lines in a fun to watch manner, the dialogue and setting making it unmistakably British. Side note- favorite line: "he's not a person, love, he's a Daily Mail reader".

From a filmmaking point of view, I thought it was well-made and realistically portrayed a violent nature of humankind, knowing when to shock and when to hold back, especially when it came to the actual deaths. I did find the slow motion use for the dramatic scenes a bit weird at the beginning, but I got used to it by the end.

Sightseers is one of this years' best British films, in both story and characters, and I highly recommend it- I enjoyed myself and I hope you will, too.

14 comments:

  1. Oh, this sounds interesting. I'll make sur eto add it to my watch list. Thanks for the tip!

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  2. I loved Tina and by the end as her transformation was complete, I laughed out loud all through the credits after that final scene! Brilliant use of music too!

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    1. Tina had quite the transformation, indeed. Loved it!

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  3. I did hear a bit about this some time ago and I'll definetly see it. I love macabre comedies, they tend to be the funniest in the genre lately. Great review!

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    1. I think you will love it- if you get and like British humor, you'll love this one!

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  4. This looks great! I'll have to check it out.

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    1. Please do add it to your To See list, it's worth it!

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  5. Great review! I'm adding this to my watchlist.

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    1. Definitely do, it's a great film, I quite liked it!

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  6. Im in love with this film! Thats definitely my favourite line as well!!!

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    1. Thanks, hope you'll love it, too, it's pretty funny and dark!

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