Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, this film has all the pathos, humour and drama that made The Office so special. The romance story at its heart is also very similar to that of Tim and Dawn in that show – even down to the idea of a girl wanting to pursue a creative urge (painting/photography) despite a heartless boyfriend standing in her way.
The film tells the story of three working-class friends (Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes and Jack Doolan) coming of age in Cemetery Junction, Reading, in 1973. Each of them struggles with the limits imposed by a backward-looking English community. When one of them starts to think outside of the small-town confines, he finds his family and colleagues are less than open-minded about his ambitions.
Felicity Jones plays Julie, a glamorous photographer who wants to travel and live a more fulfilling life than the one her nasty, selfish father (Ralph Fiennes) and boyfriend (Matthew Goode) have planned for her. Ricky Gervais plays a racist, unpleasant father bickering with his family, while Steve Merchant has only a brief walk-on cameo.
The period detail is well-observed, although sometimes things look a little too clean and bright.
There’s an unbeatable soundtrack (David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Roxy Music, T.Rex – even Elton John sounds good in this context) and a powerful sense of yearning. Plenty of laughs, too, amid some serious points about class and social aspirations.
Trivia: Emily Watson plays Felicity Jones’ mother, just as she did in the Stephen Hawkins biopic The Theory of Everything (2014).
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