IMDb RATING
6.2/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
A comedy about ordinary people with unique dilemmas. How far will they go? Will the cocktail of desperation, friendship, loneliness, love and even a brush with cannibalism derail their inten... Read allA comedy about ordinary people with unique dilemmas. How far will they go? Will the cocktail of desperation, friendship, loneliness, love and even a brush with cannibalism derail their intent?A comedy about ordinary people with unique dilemmas. How far will they go? Will the cocktail of desperation, friendship, loneliness, love and even a brush with cannibalism derail their intent?
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 7 wins & 1 nomination total
Antony Sher
- Maurice
- (as Sir Antony Sher)
Emma Barnett
- Suzie
- (uncredited)
Stefan D'Bart
- Book Shop Man
- (uncredited)
Eamonn Holmes
- TV Newsreader
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
What a great British movie, I'm so surprised and disappointed that 2 people's low score have given this an average of a poultry 5.3!! This film is a 7 average (or more) if ever I saw one. I don't often comment on IMDb but this left me feeling like I had too. The film is enjoyable, insightful, full off feeling and comedy and would be enjoyed by anyone from the UK. I'm pleased to see Mackenzie Crook choosing to star in such well produced independent movies and would recommend this to anyone. Please give this a chance and comment back to raise this poor average score to something more in line with what the film deserves. An excellent film with a great cast and original storyline, well done!
Way back even before this film even premiered at the cinema, the main London Underground tube drivers Union ASLEF were up in arms about this film being insensitive and that people falling under trains and suicide is not something to be laughed about. I don't know what they thought this film was about, or whether they had seen a completely different film to me, but I would struggle to class this as a comedy at all. It's a serious drama about a serious subject, and although, yes, there might be one or two chuckles here and there, this isn't an all-out comedy and never pretends to be. It's a serious look at Colm Meaney's character Tommy, his relationship with his wife and daughter and how it came to be that he is willing to throw himself in front of Mackenzie Crooks train. There is actually very little of the movie set underground at all - it soon takes on a road movie type trip through Liverpool (with a (thankfully brief) cameo by Atomic Kitten's Kerry Katona) and then onto Cumbria and the Lake District, no doubt to try and encourage movie-goers to holiday in the area.
Colm Meaney is better than he ever was in Star Trek, Imelda Staunton is there because after all this is a Brit flick and it says in her contract somewhere that she must star in every new British film going, while relative newcomer Gemma Arterton (last seen in St Trinians)puts on a Scouse accent for this role and does her rising career no harm at all - the new 007 film is up next, and the girl has a promising future in front of her. Mackenzie Crook I'm not so sure about. I was never a fan of "The Office" in the first place, but he seems to do well enough here - he and Meaney make a good team, it's just a shame that nearly all the original publicity back in April 2008 was negative, focusing mainly on the objections of the ASLEF union to a film that they had obviously not seen. Agreed, deaths under the wheels of trains aren't funny - I've researched my family tree and one distant relative did die this way and the inquest report makes for grim reading - I've no doubt that this is a very traumatic experience for any driver unlucky enough to hit and kill someone and no laughing matter - but then this film is no laughing matter either. It deals with a sensitive subject matter very well. I don't really see what all the fuss was about. I'd have thought the average IMDb score would be a lot better than it is currently. Ignore all the newspaper stories and judge for yourself. If any film deserves a second chance it is this one - surely a contender for the best British film of 2008.
Colm Meaney is better than he ever was in Star Trek, Imelda Staunton is there because after all this is a Brit flick and it says in her contract somewhere that she must star in every new British film going, while relative newcomer Gemma Arterton (last seen in St Trinians)puts on a Scouse accent for this role and does her rising career no harm at all - the new 007 film is up next, and the girl has a promising future in front of her. Mackenzie Crook I'm not so sure about. I was never a fan of "The Office" in the first place, but he seems to do well enough here - he and Meaney make a good team, it's just a shame that nearly all the original publicity back in April 2008 was negative, focusing mainly on the objections of the ASLEF union to a film that they had obviously not seen. Agreed, deaths under the wheels of trains aren't funny - I've researched my family tree and one distant relative did die this way and the inquest report makes for grim reading - I've no doubt that this is a very traumatic experience for any driver unlucky enough to hit and kill someone and no laughing matter - but then this film is no laughing matter either. It deals with a sensitive subject matter very well. I don't really see what all the fuss was about. I'd have thought the average IMDb score would be a lot better than it is currently. Ignore all the newspaper stories and judge for yourself. If any film deserves a second chance it is this one - surely a contender for the best British film of 2008.
After so many years of waiting for a worthy British comedy since Bridget Jones' Diary, this fine piece of work came as a breath of fresh air. After watching it half way i thought they could have done better but at the end of the movie everything made sense. Well its a British movie and it is very British, it outlines dilemmas that are faced by day to day men as we all try to work smart and not hard(with less in return). It seems there has been a lot of controversy as most(tube trade union) believe that the movie is insensitive towards tube workers. One wonders, but when did the British lose their sense of humour? this a comedy! I just believe it was an opportunity for some to get onto our screens. Everyone who has been to London knows that the tube is never reliable, but thats another subject. When titanic hit the screens no one went to protest but I am sure far more people have perished in the seas. The first good movie in a decade comes out and all these sharks are coming at it in full swing, please lets give this movie some credit it deserves.
I saw this not knowing what to expect, and I'm glad that I didn't expect loads of laughs. I suppose it is a dark comedy if anything, but it delivered something much more meaningful, and I was hooked in immediately to the human drama that enfolded. I really wanted to know what happened to the characters, all of whom seemed 3-dimensional, and I cared about their fates. The performances were excellent, especially Colm Meaney as Tommy and Mackenzie Crook as Paul, but Imelda Staunton was wonderful as always. I wanted to see whether the characters would go through with their intentions, because several outcomes seemed possible, and the plot kept me guessing. The ending was emotional and in a strange way very satisfying, and not unrealistically optimistic either. If you are going to deal with the subject of suicide, this is a very effective and thought-provoking film and succeeds on several levels. It deserves a higher rating than it has so far.
First of all it is not a comedy as the adverts would have you think. There are some elements of comedy but first and foremost this is most definitely a drama and not one about tube drivers. It is a drama about the right to aid suicide and there are some really touching moments in this film, especially just before the ending. I wouldn't say the acting was wonderful but despite it's cloudy script the actors give a solid performance and despite being a bit of a dick, i really did feel for Colm Meaneys character. I went into the this movie expecting to laugh, I didn't much, it depressed me, but whether that was the movies intentions is beyond me. My advice rent it on DVD with an open mind you will find some clear gold amongst the ambiguity.YNWA.
Did you know
- TriviaGemma Arterton's first nude scene. "I've done many films I'm not happy with but there's only one I really regret doing," she said in a 2015 interview. "I was very young, and the director exploited me in a sex scene. It was totally inappropriate - and I remember my boyfriend at the time saying the same thing. It was put into the middle of a comedy which totally didn't warrant it and I was too young to stand up for myself."
- GoofsIn the scene in Paul's apartment after he and Tommy have come back from the Lake District, you can clearly see a camera man in the mirror.
- Crazy creditsClips from the film are shown during the ending, ending on Paul Callow thanking Frankie.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Starfilm (2017)
- SoundtracksAccidents Will Happen
Written by Elvis Costello
Published by Universal Music Publishing MGB Ltd
Performed by Elvis Costello
Courtesy of Universal Music Enterprises
Under license from Universal Music Operations
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,750,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $607,324
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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