Not up to scratch... **spoilers**
I've just got back from seeing this at the cinema - I'm a huge Meadows fan and I've absolutely loved everything he's done up until now.
In my opinion this film was definately not up to scratch. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the film, I just don't think it was anywhere near Meadows usual standard. It's by far the weakest piece of work of his I've ever seen, and I've seen it all. I really am very disappointed. Here are a few of my arguments...
(You REALLY only wanna read on if you've seen the film)
- The story/relationship between Marek and his dad was un-interesting
- There are far, far, far too many static camera shots, especially in the wheelchair scene.
- Marek's acting was absolutely awful in places
- The film was missing the power that previous Meadows films have
- Tomo's acting is a little bit rubbish too
Believe me, I understand that it's a sweet story - I just get the idea that Meadows thinks the relationships are sweeter than they actually are. For example, I find it hard to believe that just because Maria gets pushed home for sixty million static camera shots in a wheelchair while acoustic music plays, it was the best day she'd ever had in that country.
Again, let me stress that I didn't dislike the film, I thought it was interesting. And I'm not saying that Meadows should stick to his normal formula, I'm all up for mixing things up. But I really don't think this deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with Romeo Brass or This Is England in anyones DVD collection.
I'm itching to hear other opinions on the film! Anyone? Oh, also, what's 'Mother Vision'? It was credited at the end for 'original story by' or something like that - But I thought Fraser did it? Cheers!