Best movie of this year hands down!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Ray is a schizophrenic who has been released form care back to his brother. He is on his medication and he is fine – enjoying life but wandering a lot. He meets a girl, Laura when she and her boyfriend are having a fight in the street. At first she dislikes him but the more he tries to get to know her the more she gives in to him. The pair go off to Hastings for a while and fall for each other – despite the worries of Ray's brother Dave.I taped as it was billed as a comedy and I thought I'd give it a go. To call it a comedy is to not even tell half the story. It is funny in many places and has an enjoyable light air to most of it, but it is so much more than just another romantic `boy meets girl' British comedy. It is actually a sensitive look at mental illness through our view of Ray. He is allowed to be a person rather than a stereotype and as a result we care more about the plot but also sympathise with all the characters a lot more.It hurt me to see Ray struggling when not on his meds. He is a real person and just struggling in this way. In real life I may have been in the street bemused by him rather than interesting in finding out who was behind the illness. Also when Dave is worried about him and feels he can't trust him, we side with Ray and see Ray's point, whereas in real life many of us would have our doubts just like Dave. This doesn't mean it's perfect as the plot has weaknesses. The romance in the centre doesn't always ring true and the climax, although dramatic, is an extreme for dramatic effect, but overall it works.This is mainly due to a good strong script with real characters as well as good acting all round. Craig is really good as Ray – I never doubted him for a second and his portrayal is never lazy cliché for a second. McDonald's Dave is a less sympathetic figure but well acted and Macdonald's Laura is good once we are over the way she is very easily won over by Ray. The direction is really good and avoids being arty in it's use of images. I don't know what it's like to see things an hear things like Ray is, but here it is brought to the screen as well and as tastefully as could be expected.Overall this is a comedy and can be enjoyed as such for at least half the film. But more than this the film goes deeper and is a wonderful look at schizophrenia without going into detail but rather giving us a real character and even helping `normal' (read `ignorant') people like me understand what it's like for people like Ray.

I only saw the last hour of this film but it is an excellent insight into mental illness, as well as the urban jungle of London (west London and Acton/Shepherds Bush, in particular).Daniel Craig is brilliant (never heard of him before) as the mixed up man who visits and stays with his brother and frequents his quaint little bistro in the high street.Lots of Godard-style jump cuts and freeze-frames, presumably to mimic the mind of a schizophrenic, accompanied by a fine soundtrack. Another great little motif is having all the characters live or work next to very busy thoroughfares - Ray's brother (Peter Macdonald) of course lives on the third floor at the same level as the flyover about 50 feet away, with constant motion and noise.The film even features cooking lessons at the end, as Ray is quietly rehabilitated, ironically set and filmed in the hinterland of Jamie Oliver, the original 'naked chef' on BBC tv who is always shown at some point traversing these same streets on his Italian moped (always wearing a crash helmet, of course!). Daniel Craig is more authentic as he's seen naked in the street during a crisis.The film's quite emotional, too, especially the kitchen arson scene where Dave is visibly concerned.

I saw this film recently, when it was briefly shown at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse. My concentration didn't waver throughout the whole film. For me, the story was told in such a way that it was essentially a truthful one, without needlessly tugging at heartstrings or indulging in gratuitous fun at the expense of the leading character. I work in mental health, so a film such as this one sits better with me than 'Me, Myself & Irene", which, to be fair, I have not seen, and which I know is intended as a comedy. 'Some Voices' has comic touches, but these are humane, and do not detract from the fact that this is the story of a man who wants a life, but finds it hard to accept the conditions that other people seem to be placing on him. I was totally gripped from start to finish, and would urge others to see this film, and also, to enjoy the great soundtrack, which only fades away in a moment of high drama towards the end but otherwise accompanies the action very sensitively,and does not get in the way of it. This film deserves a lot more exposure than I guess its independent status will ensure. Go and see it, or get your local independent cinema to put it on!

This was a film I saw completely "on spec" having not heard of it before. As is often the way, when there are no expectations to be dashed, the experience was entirely worthwhile.Without giving too much plot away, our hero - or more accurately our anti-hero - is discharged at the start of the film from a psychiatric hospital. He is returned, with a large supply of tablets, to his brother's care within "the community". When he falls for a woman, who reciprocates, life seems better than it has ever been, and he begins to question whether the endless tablets are actually necessary. This is a film which is above all honest. The performances are truthful and insightful, and the characters are drawn sympathetically but not blandly. We are shown flaws and strengths, and we are invited to observe and empathise but not judge. The laughter - and it is not in short supply - comes from the foibles of the characters we are presented with, and as in life, provides a welcome relief from the more tragic elements. As the film moves towards its conclusion - via a 10 minute sequence of genuine breathtaking tension - the answers provided are not easy, and the loose ends are not tied up, yet this acts not to frustrate the viewer but simply to reinforce that this is the genuine article - life has no easy solutions. I have rated this film as a 9 out of 10; it lacks the perception about the human condition, the wider scope or relevance of, say "American Beauty", but that was never its intention, and it is designed, I suspect, with a smaller audience in mind. It is, however, a beauty in its own right, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it as a thought- provoking way of spending a couple of hours.