Sorry, this movie sucks

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

For some reason I expected a little more from Stuart Murdoch who has written some beautiful songs, even though with varying degrees of lollipop. In God Help The Girl he does a few things well. The dance and musical sequences, though possibly jarring to some, are blended into the film reasonably well. But the rest of it is pretty shallow. It's as if he had the idea of jumping into the ocean but got to the edge and just paddled, not really able or wanting to get wet. For example, James is potentially an interesting character but Stuart doesn't develop him beyond the paper thin. At one point in the film, Anton (Pierre Boulanger) describes Eve's music as, and I'm paraphrasing, baby stories for young girls. I think Anton's analysis could equally apply to God Help The Girl.

Great cast, great directing, great songs, great lyrics, great movie. I always loved Emily Browning but here she totally showed her talent for acting, and surprise... singing. Loved her voice, and the character she played. Olly Alexander, i have to say i never heard of him but now i hope i do hear more from him, cuz he did such a great acting here. I could really feel related to him, to his voice singing and to his huge love for Eve. Hanna Murray i know her from Game of Thrones, and i never saw anything special about her, but in this movie, even though she cant sing, i wasn't feeling bored while seeing her and listening to her. Probably cuz the director did get the camera from great points of view, but even so,she was really good, and even if i didn't liked her voice i really felt that she was part of the band and that this is where she belonged. This three young people even though they were different, they're friendship was something that could never be broken. Ever.

Having seen God Help the Girl evolve from it's Kickstarter roots to its coming together as an actual film; I was really looking forward to the final completion. The trailer alone seemed to promise a charming little story of a fledgling pop group and the quirks of its individual members.Though attractive and feel-good, the actual film was a bit disappointing. The music seems to pop up randomly and awkwardly, serving little purpose to the story, and the choreography is clumsy. Some parts of the musical numbers are almost embarrassing to watch. Even the wonderful Emily Browning just resorts to a doe-eyed pouting when singing the songs, as they are often unrelated to the scene and I presume she was left clueless as to how else to perform them.The non-musical moments aren't much better. The scenes don't run smoothly from each other. For example, one moment the band are infuriated at their lack of progress. They have songs, but they have yet to perform any of them. Yet, upon advertising for members they are chased by an enthusiastic mob of auditionees. It creates a fun scene but it came from nowhere and then leads nowhere.A French love interest for Eve is another redundant theme. Nothing is offered to the plot and nothing is gained. He disappears just as unnoticeably as he entered. Later on, Eve gets wasted and parties around town with a dancer who only appears for that one scene, another confusing addition.Where the film shines is in the moments where the band members just live their lives and dream. There is a lovely scene in which Eve, Cassie and James take a boat trip, talk frivolously and drink wine. Later on, they play in an outdoor gym whilst discussing their intentions for their band . And another scene at the pool when they debate David Bowie's place in a girl's coming of age. Sweet moments that endear us to the film and the characters.But, for all these moments, the main characters of Eve, Cassie and James are only ever touched upon superficially. We get that Eve is troubled, James is a dreamer and Cassie is child-like. But that is all we get.In the final scenes Eve overdoses, and the only thing this serves to the film is her awakening that the band isn't good enough for her. At the end Eve just gets on a train and leaves, bored of the band and their music. The relationship established throughout the film just thrown away, and it leaves the film to crumble around it. At the end of the film we are exactly where we were at the beginning, and it feels like a monumental waste of time. Having said all of this, I did find the film very cute and watchable. It is sweet and charming, almost twee at times, but I just feel that it could have been so much more than it actually was. I also feel that James and Cassie were the protagonists of this film and that the story would have been better suited to them. It would have been more likable. The film ends with them riding off together on Cassie's tandem bicycle, and we realise too late that we should have been rooting for these two the entire film, and not the selfish and destructive Eve.

Having read the reviews, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I began seeing GHTG. I should say that I have been a B&S fan since 1997 or 1998 when I discovered "If you're feeling sinister" and I have all their releases up until 1998 as well as the debut album of Gentle Waves. Their music has really influenced me as a person and I really was curious of what a film based on their songs would look like.I felt happy watching GHTG but it was also really emotional. Being in my mid-30s it reminded me of my dreams as a teenager and I began asking myself if there's still time to accomplish them. I strongly identified with the character of James and his search for the perfect moment, which makes it impossible to enjoy life. I recognized Eve in the many talented, self-destructive, impulsive people I have met in my life and all the opportunities I had to make my life a little more interesting.GHTG is full of color. The characters dress up in all kinds of costumes, and yes it is unrealistic but I think what many fail to realize is that our fondest memories are usually very different than what we really experienced. Everything is more colorful and stylish in our memories, like a Belle and Sebastian album cover.I had read that there is no plot to the movie, but I don't agree at all. I think both Eve and James are wonderfully developed characters and Cassie is also an interesting character whose presence makes the story better. And the music is also wonderful. I was very pleased with Emily Browning's singing performance. She not only has a great voice but she also seemed to be really invested in the songs which made her character more believable.I loved the film's bittersweet ending as well as the many funny and awkward moments (James fighting his drummer, James and Eve showing up at Cassie's house or the drunk Scottish boys whose accent Cassie couldn't understand). This may not be a film for everyone, but I think the world would be a better place if more people listened to Belle & Sebastian and all I can do is thank Stuart Murdoch, the actors and everyone else involved in making this film.