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The Worst Film Ever

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There's not a weak link in the cast of "Lawless Heart," a multi-character film with intertwining stories following the accidental drowning death and funeral of Stuart, a local gay restaurateur in a village on the Isle of Man. In fact, the performances are the highlight.Stuart's brother-in-law Dan (Bill Nighy) and sister Judy (Ellie Haddington) deal with what to do with Stuart's inheritance, as no will was prepared: keep it or give it to Stuart's partner Nick (Tom Hollander). Dan, who is rather homophobic, also begins to question the limitations of the life he's chosen. Judy is torn between loyalty to Stuart's probable wishes and her family's own tight financial situation.Stuart's cousin Tim (Douglas Henshall) is an immature, ethically dubious black sheep who returns after leaving town years ago. He winds up falling for Leah (Josephine Butler) a local shopkeeper, only to get treated the same way he tends to treat people.Nick, numb with grief, first lets Tim stay with him but soon regrets it. During a wild party Tim throws, Nick meets Charlie (Sukie Smith) a lively, feckless, not-too-bright local girl and is drawn to her energy and high spirits. (SPOILER ALERT). However, this story is where the script goes off-base. The development of Nick and Charlie's relationship struck me as forced in order for the two to have a single rushed, emotionally intense sexual encounter late in the film. While it's apparent that Nick's behavior is more an outlet for his grief than anything else, the whole sequence felt false. It's not as if Nick couldn't express himself in such a way with another man (which would make more sense). With this film, "Bedrooms & Hallways" and the TV mini-series "Bob and Rose," I'm sensing an odd British fascination with gay men who suddenly have sex with women. Go figure.I wonder if the filmmakers would have a grieving widower find himself having sex with another man. Don't bet on it.

a film about the truth of life - at first I thought it was boring because I am so conditioned by Hollywood etc. even British films that have wowed in the past five years are shown to have a certain fakeness by this one. Enjoy. I think it would make my perfect date movie.

a terrificly acted and constructed ensemble piece... wittily developed musical themes of pulsating rhythms from Schubert to disco matches the frequent rhythms of the not infrequent "bonking" scenes... also the characters falling in love with each other are all derived from different classes or social groups with their class-identifying accents, with different levels of social and sexual repressions or freedoms, but in the end all with very human needs for contact and closeness...

Spoiler warning. How to make a British art-house movie and get the critics gurgling with sheer pleasure: 1. Start with a funeral. Any writer worth his/her salt knows that this is the biggest cliche in the book and you should never start with a funeral, for ****'s sake. Don't listen to 'em. Start with a funeral. Never fails. 2. End with home movie/video footage of the deceased, accompanied by uplifting music. Can't beat it. 3. Mess around with flashbacks. They love it. 4. Mess around with points-of-view. Even better. Makes you look as though you are above such banal concepts as "linear storytelling" and the like. 5. Get loads of decent Brit actors like Nighy and Henshall. Can't go wrong. 6. Make sure you have a few shots of pretty scenery. Whether it's gritty London streets looking achingly beautiful, or deserted East Anglian beaches looking achingly beautiful, get 'em in there, and slap on the uplifting music. 7. Don't worry about seeming cliched or banal or predictable or unoriginal. No one gives a **** about stuff like that, do they?