It wasn't that the film tried to portray psychopaths per se, it was more how it tried to do so.....I personally found it simply failed to do that in any creative way.
And I'm afraid I didn't find the so-called 'black-comedy' at all funny, or wry, or in any way memorable, just dull and desperately boring.
A lack of money in making a production doesn't prevent you from drawing characterizations properly, or having the actors deliver interesting dialogue, or developing an interesting plot. DT had none of these unfortunately.
I've seen some of these actors in other productions (the Mother, and Eric in particular), and when they've had decent dialogue, they can deliver believable performances; I can't think any of them would have felt their performances stood up in DT. I am ignoring the son who played the lead, as it was clear to me that he was totally out of his depth in such a role.
I certainly do applaud any independent film-maker in trying to produce a very low-budget film -- and 8 days filming is no doubt a necessity under those circumstances -- but I just found this effort particularly unappealing and woefully dull on so many levels.
Anyways, good to swap opinions, it's certainly one of the things films are for in my view....
LR
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11 years ago
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lee-richardson57-514-214066
11 years ago
Why on earth does my commenting that this actor (in the lead-role) was totally out of his depth in that role make me a moron ?
Surely one can reasonably deduce that only by being the co-writer would he have any chance of landing such a role.
A perfect example of a director not being bold enough when casting.
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poolie59-1
11 years ago
I take it you are not much of a Mike Leigh fan either, good sir?
I have also been watching films for 'nearly' 50 years and think this little slice of 'mundane weirdness' is a gem. Methinks you don't quite get the point?
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lee-richardson57-514-214066
11 years ago
Well, to put Mike Leigh into the same category of movie as this poor effort, you might well be right, that there is clearly something I'm not getting.....just can't for the life of me think what.
Mike Leigh has an excellent track record of making movies which have something to say, however mundane the setting (Abigails Party), or odd-ball the characters (Nuts in May).....Secrets and Lies would be another classic example, and one of my favourite Brit movies of the past 20 years.
However, Leigh also gets actors who can act, produces dialogue worth listening to and exploiting plots which have some point to them.....the comparison between any Leigh film I can think of and this dreadful film I simply cannot see I'm afraid.
Pray tell.....
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william-weekes
11 years ago
As his first film, Ben Wheatley has done wonders. It bares comparison to the films of Mike Leigh, but also to Shane Meadows and in particular Dead Man's Shoes, and TwentyFourSeven. As for the acting, I thought the father and son were excellent. Personally, I could not fault it, which unfortunately can't be said for Wheatley's follow up Kill List.
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heart_in_ohio
11 years ago
I have to disagree strongly with your last point. I found Kill List to be one of the best independent films out of the UK I have seen in years. I definitely think it showed an evolution in Wheatley from this film to Kill List, rather than a regression.
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