My first visit to the cinema during the Easter break was just last night - one day before we returned to school, and having seen the trailer for Ricky Gervais' third film - I thought I'd better check it out.
I know what a flop Gervais' first two features were - 'Ghost Town' was terrible, plot was unoriginal and any good jokes were stuffed into the trailer (therefore there were absolutely no surprises left), and The Invention of Lying was really not much better.
However, 'Cemetery Junction' had a different feel about it, plus with Stephen Merchant on board, perhaps the award winning comedy duo would create something great. I was right.
'Cemetery Junction', set in 1970s England, follows the story of three young guys living in a small town. Freddie aspires to become rich and successful, to leave his working class life behind, while Bruce, struggles to leave his youth behind, rebelling and constantly in and out of jail, he is happy with his life and wishes everything to stay the same. Snork, (the film's comic relief) a socially awkward loveable loser, is the third member of the group - he just wants to get on with his life, meet a girl and settle down.
The film is funny and extremely touching, and although I didn't live through the 70s it also has a strong feeling of authenticity. The character's seem real and believeable and I think the majority of the audience will be able to relate to one, if not all of the characters in some way. It is a classic coming of age movie dealing with the relationships between the three main characters, their relationships with their families, especially Bruce and his father's turbulant relationship, and Freddie's love for the leading lady.
The perfomances were excellent, perhaps becuase Gervais and Merchant did not take leading roles. The three young leads delivered powerful and totally believeable performances as did the supporting cast which included Ralph Fiennes as Freddie's boss, a harsh and cold business man, Gervais, as Freddie's layabout father and for a brief one line, Merchant, as a dinner party guest.
The film could be related to the likes of 'Billy Elliot' and 'The Full Monty' in terms of setting and style, it makes full use of the 1970s backdrop in a subtle and effective manner.
All in all I feel it was a film definitely worth seeing, an enjoyable coming of age movie and certainly Ricky Gervais' best feature film so far!
