"I'm not a Womble, mate!"
This is the first time I've loved a movie and come onto Letterboxd to find nothing but hate and apathy, and I'm so confused! This was a genuinely brilliant Christmas movie about how the choices we make - and sometimes the choices made for us - can completely change the course of our life. There's a little bit of It's a Wonderful Life in here (how one man really does make a difference to those around him, and the exploration of alternate timelines where things were different) and a light sprinkling of A Christmas Carol too (a man who's made poor choices in life is given a chance at redemption).
Michael Sheen plays Tony Towers, a nightclub owner in the 80s who seemingly has it all, but a glimpse into his future reveals his life is a house of cards ready to fall. A Christmas miracle on a train ride home sees him move from carriage to carriage, each one taking him to a different decade of how life, giving him the chance to go back and do things differently, as well as go forward and see the consequences of his actions.
It goes without saying that Sheen gives his all to this. It all hangs on him and he doesn't miss a beat. Cary Elwes is unrecognisable (literally, I had no idea it was him until the end credits) as Tony's brother Roger, and Nathalie Emmanuel is charming as Tony's fiancee Sue. Writer/director Julian Kemp uses every tool at his disposal to faithfully recreate every decade in cinema, from the 40s all the way up to the modern day, and it's amazing how accurate you can get these days.
The film that this starts as is not the film it ends up as, or ever really was to begin with. It's not even about Tony, at the end of the day, but the whole point is about making him see that.
It's listed as a 90 minute movie, but it's actually nearly two hours, and as much as I enjoyed it, it probably would have befitted with being a little leaner. The only other gripe I have is there's never even an attempt to find out or explain what's going on. I think the movie explores the central conceit really well, but it feels like a missed opportunity to not even have a throwaway line that references what is happening.
Loved this new Christmas classic
"I'm not a Womble, mate!"
This is the first time I've loved a movie and come onto Letterboxd to find nothing but hate and apathy, and I'm so confused! This was a genuinely brilliant Christmas movie about how the choices we make - and sometimes the choices made for us - can completely change the course of our life. There's a little bit of It's a Wonderful Life in here (how one man really does make a difference to those around him, and the exploration of alternate timelines where things were different) and a light sprinkling of A Christmas Carol too (a man who's made poor choices in life is given a chance at redemption).
Michael Sheen plays Tony Towers, a nightclub owner in the 80s who seemingly has it all, but a glimpse into his future reveals his life is a house of cards ready to fall. A Christmas miracle on a train ride home sees him move from carriage to carriage, each one taking him to a different decade of how life, giving him the chance to go back and do things differently, as well as go forward and see the consequences of his actions.
It goes without saying that Sheen gives his all to this. It all hangs on him and he doesn't miss a beat. Cary Elwes is unrecognisable (literally, I had no idea it was him until the end credits) as Tony's brother Roger, and Nathalie Emmanuel is charming as Tony's fiancee Sue. Writer/director Julian Kemp uses every tool at his disposal to faithfully recreate every decade in cinema, from the 40s all the way up to the modern day, and it's amazing how accurate you can get these days.
The film that this starts as is not the film it ends up as, or ever really was to begin with. It's not even about Tony, at the end of the day, but the whole point is about making him see that.
It's listed as a 90 minute movie, but it's actually nearly two hours, and as much as I enjoyed it, it probably would have befitted with being a little leaner. The only other gripe I have is there's never even an attempt to find out or explain what's going on. I think the movie explores the central conceit really well, but it feels like a missed opportunity to not even have a throwaway line that references what is happening.
Loved this new Christmas classic
