Absolutely brilliant

A Masterpiece!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The script is pretty rubbish; it's something that was obviously written by high school students.However, the performances are fantastic. Every single actor puts in an amazing effort; and Emilia Jones is a standout, for her age. Worth watching just to appreciate the performers. Not the story, that's awful.

The old saw is that families come together in crises, but we all know there is an equal chance that they will come apart. Rarely is it mentioned that both can occur, as is true in this gem of a movie. Even more rare is the notion of a joyous death, a death occurring in the middle of one's most cherished pursuits, spending time with grandchildren. More rare still (if not unprecedented) is that death can be celebrated with creativity and connection coming from children, who are ordinarily shielded from its realities, but who can not only rise to the occasion but, with their own mythologies, transcend it.It does not hurt that the adult cast is stellar nor does it hurt that the countryside is immeasurably beautiful nor that the child performers are the most adept wise fools and truth tellers to be seen in decades.I did not intend to write about this movie. I wanted to keep it as a secret for myself, to watch as the spirit might insist. Yet when I saw the anemic professional reviews, I felt compelled to speak up. So, if nothing else, the less than resounding applause from the professional front has shaken me loose from my selfishness and forced me to declare that all movie watchers everywhere would likely find something of delight in this film: see it!

If you liked Outnumbered on TV, you'll probably like this. Trio of kids from dysfunctional London family head to Scotland for grandad's birthday. Not usually my cup of tea, but script and director get it right. The children have a believably offbeat take on reality, talking and doing as they would, and not as adults think they should. Tennant and Pike spark off each other as couple on verge of nervous break-up. Connolly is the perfect reprobate ancient. The host family exhibit a typical kind pomposity that is easy to lampoon. A relaxed pace that builds to a good comedy climax. The film steers clear of the chaos that such films sometimes court. I was pleasantly surprised. Worth watching!

Pro tip: like "Ondine" - the Irish fairy tale story about seal people - you are going to need to turn on your close captioning to fight your way through the Scottish accents in this family dramedy about a family falling apart. It will be well worth it as the film includes a host of excellent one-liners often delivered by children (Father: "so you have a big rock that protects you from other big rocks?" Daughter: "yes, just like in real life."). The surprisingly aging comedian Billy Connelley plays the dying patriarch whom the family goes to visit on their holiday as the parent cope to create a soft landing for the children from their impending divorce. Hilarity ensues. Much of it that farcical manners comedy where people act in a way that best serves the comedy rather than reflecting the actual way people behave. Given the age of the children, some of the divorce drama (Pike's character screams: "Wallace is the name of the man I'm screwing" in front of them) gets uncomfortable and when played for laughs makes the audience uncomfortable. Still, anything the exquisite Pike stars in can't not be worth viewing. In short, a good little foreign film if you can follow the dialog.