Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

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

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

A musical about the inhabitants of a road where a serial killer murdered 5 prostitutes. Inappropriate? Maybe, but that doesn't mean it has to be bad. Just because subject matter is dark doesn't mean the end product can't work, That said, nothing in London Road works at all.The writer of the musical decided to take the actual words of people interviewed after the murder, which is a neat concept. Until that is, you realize that includes every umm, erm, pause, stutter, etc. The lyrics needed to be cleaned up to actually fit to music. Which brings us to the point of the music. It's not musical, it's words spoken in an ALMOST sing-song-y way, but not quite. Every now and then some of the words are put to actual song, and it's... interesting, but still far from good.The sad thing is that there probably is a strong story in there. Whether about the murders, the investigation, or the people affected by it, something could be told based off that. But not this. Never this.

I decided to watch this as I knew about the story and thought it would be a drama about it. I must have totally missed the 'musical' genre, which I have to say is a bit random, covering this terrible occurrence.To be fair, there isn't much about the murders its mostly about the community and how they were affected by them and as a result they came together to create a better area. The singing is a bit rubbish to say the least, however, having Olivia Coleman and Tom Hardy in the cast is a positive (sorry Olivia, singing isn't your strong point)

It's not really surprising how an experimental film like this got polarized reviews... The idea, like many said, to create a documentary musical about a real-life murder is absurd, but the execution for the film was great. Many negative reviews regarding London Road mainly criticized this film because this is "not something you should sing about" like bloody hell people, WE'RE IN THE 21ST CENTURY! But once you get past that, you should be able to view London Road without clouded judgement. There really are no standout numbers or standout performances, which is what makes it great, considering it's a musical film about community (not the murder itself, really). The music is complex, but once the ensemble sing as one, it sounds beautiful. The lyrics taken from recordings in real life may be a bit annoying, but they sound quite natural with the characters singing them. The direction, production design and cinematography also surpass many films from Hollywood. Of course, it is for the viewers to decide, but you can't judge it until you've watched it.

Yes, if like me, you see this film without knowing anything about its content and presentation, you should find it astonishing. As you can see from the plot summary in IMDb above, the story is a true one, in Ipswich in Britain, where five murders occurred not that many years ago. These events were then taken up by the National Theatre, and now as a film. There are a wide range of characters in the street (London Road) and they all have their own words used to make the dialogue. However, it is the presentation and delivery of the story that makes this film so riveting. My only reservations were the handling of two of the central characters which seemed a little far-fetched, but these are minor quibbles in a film which will be very differently delivered on the screen from what anyone would expect. Some of the imagery in the crowd scenes is especially noteworthy. Definitely recommended for art-house film fans, and the large crowd in Melbourne at the screening I attended seemed to be most impressed by its audacity.