The greatest movie ever made..!

Pretty Good

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) is bitter at the family being moved from London to rural Devon. His dad (Ray Winstone) crashes the car taking his pregnant mum (Tilda Swinton) to the hospital. She has a baby girl. Tom accuses his older sister Jessie (Lara Belmont) of having sex with their father which she denies. Colin Farrell plays local boy Nick who takes a fancy to Jessie.This is a dark disturbing story of incest and the conflicting blame that occurs. It's Tim Roth's directorial debut. He tries to make this a quiet moody film. The extended desolate landscape scenes are fine but I don't like quietly waiting for the actors to speak. I also don't like the Tom character although I grow to accept him. I'm not impressed with Cunliffe's performance but it could very well be his character. On the other hand, Lara Belmont is compelling. The final act is terrific with Ray Winstone acting up a storm. On a side note, Farrell's role is rather small. This is a disturbing compelling movie despite a slow start.

Tim Roth, didn't know you had it in you. I have to wonder. This was one of those beautiful train wrecks, that the Brits do so well. Wait. Not a train wreck, more of a major city leveled by atomic terrorism. It does so well with that British slowness that I hated as a child but now appreciate in such a huge way. A truly horrible brilliant movie.Of course there will be people who wonder why this movie was made, and I'm one of them. Yet, I have a feeling that unlike the recent Batman movie, this one will be something I cannot get out of my head. Unlike Batman, the characters and story are seared into my memory. Powerful performances by all. I don't even want to single out one actor because it was all flawless.

English actor and director Tim Roth's feature film debut which was written by British author and screenwriter Alexander Stuart, is an adaptation of a novel by Alexander Stuart from 1989. It premiered in the Premieres section at the 15th Sundance Film Festival in 1999, was screened in the Panorama section at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999, was shot on location in London and the county of North Devon in England and is a United Kingdom-Italy co-production which was produced by producers Sarah Radcliffe and Dixie Linder. It tells the story about a boy named Tom who moves from London, England to a remote house by the coast in Devon with his father, pregnant mother and older sister named Jessie. Finely and precisely directed by British filmmaker Tim Roth, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a gripping and unsettling portrayal of a young man's relationship with his sister and how everything changes when he begins to suspect that their father is molesting her. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by Northern Irish cinematographer Seamus McGarvey and fine production design by Australian production designer Michael Carlin, this character-driven and dialog-driven coming-of-age story depicts a reflective study of character and contains an efficient score by composer Simone Boswell. This minimalistic, atmospheric and unsentimental psychological drama about incest which is set during a spring on the countryside in South West England in the late 20th century, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity and the understated and poignant acting performances by English actor Ray Winstone, English actress Tilda Swinton and British actress Lara Belmont and British actor Freddie Cunliffe in their debut feature film roles. An authentic, graphic and prominent directorial debut from the late 1990s which gained, among several other awards, the European Discovery Award Tim Roth at the 12th European Film Awards in 1999.

So this film was recommended to me after watching "The Piano Teacher" and I had never heard of it before but was intrigued by it's themes and that it was the first and so far only film directed by Tim Roth. It instantly draws parallels with Gary Oldman's "Nil By Mouth" not least because it also stars Ray Winstone in the "father" role.The first thing I feel I should mention is just how good this film looked. The setting was perfect, a sleepy seaside village in Devon directly conflicting with the events unfolding on screen whilst at the same time complementing them with the dreary, bleak backgrounds. Indeed, many scenes just show Tom on the beach or very little happening, but they look great as it segues from one scene to another.I thought the cast was perfect for the film. Of course Ray Winstone in this sort of role is often reason to watch, but I also think that Freddie Cunliffe was marvellous in the main role and I was surprised he has not done anything else of note off the back of this.I honestly do not think the content of this film is as bad as it's Wikipedia page suggests, though that does not mean I recommend it to most people. If you like the sound of the description on Wikipedia you will most likely enjoy this film on some level, otherwise you should not bother because you will hate it.Then there is "that" scene. One of the most uncomfortable, uncompromising sex scenes you are likely to see in a full length picture.I am surprised Tim Roth has still not directed another film but I would definitely be up for watching them even if the story is not as bleak as this one because the direction and casting is spot on.Overall, I recommend this to people who like this sort of film. However I feel it is not quite on par with Nil By Mouth because that film made me shed a tear and this one did not.Recommended for fans of Nil By Mouth, Straw Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, Once Were Warriors and films by Ken Loach. A must for anybody who likes to see Ray Winstone in this sort of role.