DVD Review – A Film With Me In It

The first in this weeks DVD reviews is the Irish black  comedy – A Film With Me In It

I see myself as a pretty unlucky person. Although I have found the love of my life and have two of the most beautiful children EVER, no arguing please, I have not ever won a competition, or a horse race, or anything. It shows my luck that Britain is in a late HEAT WAVE when I return from holiday, so everyone has a tan, not just me. ‘Typical’ is probably the most common word I say these days. But, even though I am not very lucky I am no way near as unlucky as Mark, played by Mark Doherty (who also wrote the screenplay) makes me look like I am the King of the World!!

Mark is a struggling actor, he is month behind on the rent and his girlfriend is on the verge of leaving him. Mark’s best friend is Pierce, played by Dylan Moran (Shaun of the Dead), an equally struggling writer/director/alcoholic a role that Moran plays in typical fashion. The pair lives in a run down and much in need of repair building owned by an understandably peeved landlord Jack, played by Keith Allen.

What starts out as a low-key indie rom-com type affair we get quickly wrong turned into a very dark comedic farce. Mark’s Dog gets squashed by some broken shelves, killing it. Seconds later Marks disabled brother has a fight with a falling chandelier. Still in shock by this Mark is unable to talk when Jack comes to fix a broken light in the kitchen, and promptly falls of a wobbly stool coming face to face (or neck to neck) with his screw driver.

In desperate need of someone to advise him, he calls on Pierce who immediately sees that calling the police may not be the best thing to do in this farcical situation. Just when the pair think it couldn’t get any worse Mark’s girlfriend comes home see’s the carnage and promptly faints, impaling herself on Mark’s clarinet stand. And that makes 4.

Pierce has to take control of the situation, as he puts it having this many fatal accidents in such a short time is…

‘Taking the Piss!’

To try to explain this to the Police would be impossible and the pair will have to come up with some sort of master plan to stop them from being thrown in jail on a triple murder charge (4 if you include the dog!).

From such a grim set up comes actually quite a funny film. It may be a very deep dark kind of funny, but funny all the same. The word ‘FARCE’ when tied to a film almost makes you do the sucking a lemon face these days. It just isn’t fashionable anymore. But, this example works very well, thanks in part to Marks Doherty’s understated and shell-shocked character which is the perfect ying to Moran’s ‘typical Moran’ yang. Doherty reminded me much of the classic deadpan performances by the great Eric Sykes.

The film is full of excellent sight gags with faulty windows, dodgy lightbulbs and so on. Also some really funny one liners…

‘It’s not a lie, it’s s new truth’

Although the production values are low and very in keeping with the very meager budget, it in no way detracts from the film at all. There is no need for any high-end lighting or Hollywood type effects for this comedy to work. Ian FitzGibbon the director does a brilliant job in bringing out winning performances from the entire cast, and the editing is crisp and sharp.

Even though this didn’t get a very wide release when it was in the cinema on DVD I believe it may find the much-needed love it deserves. At its darkest it may not appeal to your Mum, but ‘A Film With Me in It’ is a fun film and highly enjoyable.

 FRC Rating

[starreview tpl=16 size='30']

‘A FILM WITH ME IN IT’ IS RELEASED NATIONALLY IN UK ON DVD ON 10TH OCTOBER 2011 BY ELEMENT PICTURES

Have you seen this film? Does Irish humour appeal to you? Comment below…