Watch The Search for John Gissing For Free

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very Cool!!!

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I went into this to see one of Mrs. Garofalo's rare film titles not expecting anything but maybe a reality bites type of film. What I got was a fantastic surprise.I will admit the first half of this film got annoying because Mike Binder's constant complaining about the situation wore on me but when he and Gissing meet, hold onto your seat, your gonna laugh. Binder sure picked a great supporting cast to round out this little gem. Alan Rickman is a comic genius in this one. He's the star of this w/o a doubt. In the beginning you will loathe him but in the end you'll be rooting for him. Every character in this is funny. Every actor was casted perfectly for this film.How this film slipped under the radar and isn't any bigger than it is is a surprise to me. It's an absolute winner. If your bored one night and are searchin your netflix cue, browse to this title and wait for it...your gonna love it.

I like The Search for John Gissing, but I suspect that's mainly because I like Alan Rickman - I doubt I'd have found it very interesting otherwise.Firstly, it's very old-fashioned in many ways - Mike Binder (who wrote, directed and played Matthew Barnes) can throw around corporate buzzwords all he likes, but they don't stop the film being a strange hybrid of the eighties Wall Street yuppie drama and a Carry On film. It's gimmicky too - you quickly get bored of "I'm from Chicago, so...", and the nun thing with Giles Hannigan (played by Owen Teale) is excruciating. The plot is all very far-fetched; if you can't suspend disbelief and ignore this, you really shouldn't watch this film.It's also very disjointed; for example, it's not clear until the summing-up at the very end that Mary the stripper/nun (played by Sonya Walger) IS actually Gissing's girlfriend. It's not central to the plot, but not knowing sort of niggles at you. Similarly, Dexter the taxi driver seems to go from cynically exploiting the Barneses to being their best friend in between scenes and in the space of ten minutes, and you kind of have to just mentally shrug and go "oh... OK then" to get around it.Some of the writer's constructs are far too visible for comfort; for example, it's very clear that Gwyneth Moore (played - bizarrely - by Juliet Stevenson, who I can only assume became involved through Rickman) is going through a divorce simply so that Francois Feulliere can mention it and show the audience he's a baddie... it has not the smallest bearing on the story. There's also a Mancunian cousin of Gissing's shipped in for no clear reason other than to let Barnes break into Gissing's house, attack the wrong person and look a little silly. Why this person had to be a cousin, a Northerner, a bit dim and a boxer is unclear - it's a lot of detail to write in for one punch, which is all the character really contributes. This seems to be a common theme though; Johanna Frielduct, the insane German lady, serves no purpose either - which you'd mind less if she was funny. Binder's speech about business being the new war is just plain painful - I advise you to fast- forward it, you're only missing a fairly pithy and oh-so-American bit of slush tacked on to give "depth" to a character who would have been more likable without it.The ending is pretty unsatisfying too; the audience is being dragged along in a fully-fledged, high-speed "caper" and then is suddenly slammed face-first into a fluffy, tacked-on wall of Gissing getting married, Linda Barnes (Janeane Garofalo) opening a dance school and Dexter getting off with Gwyneth. All in all the film bears distinct signs that Binder had it stewing away in his head for many years before it was made; I got the impression it was all so familiar and obvious in his head he struggled to see the gaps he was leaving for the viewer.That's the bad stuff, and in fairness there's a lot of it... but here's the good stuff. Janeane Garofalo (Linda Barnes) is very funny, and when you stop and consider how flat her character actually is it's astonishing how entertaining she manages to be. Allan Corduner (Francoise Feulliere) is good too; an excellent depiction of little-man syndrome at work in the corporate world. Juliet Stevenson (Gwyneth Moore) is very good in the straight role - although she hasn't tried to upstage anyone, you have to watch her quite closely to spot how finely tuned her reactions are to the "wacky" happenings going on around her. Sonya Walger is well cast and manages to do a lot with a very two- dimensional part... you just have to ignore the fact that Mary apparently goes from being a stripper when that suits the story to a stage actor and tap-dancer when THAT suits the story.There IS some good comedy dialogue in amongst the fluff; the conversation about the use of the word "buggered" when Gissing and Barnes first meet in person is memorable, as is Linda Barnes' screaming rant about the definitions of "fine" and "f*cked". Although it was a very clear vehicle to showcase Binder's comic abilities I actually enjoyed the conversation about Gissing peeing on Feulliere's chair; yes, it was predictable and a very common comic device, but that's OK when it's done well as in this example.Undoubtedly the best aspect of the film, though, is Rickman. Binder pales into insignificance whenever they share the screen, and even Corduner occasionally gives the impression of struggling for your notice in their shared scenes. In fact, the only person who is able to resist being totally outshone is Garofalo... indeed, the two bounce so well off each other it's a shame they didn't have more scenes together.Surprisingly I found one of the most endearing scenes to be the one in the dance hall during the end credits, in which the entire cast - in costume - is dancing together to "World of a King" by David Mead. It's so intimate, and really gives you the idea that this has been a small pet project worked on for many years by a small group of friends who knew it wasn't world-changing but cared about it deeply. Seen in this light, The Search for John Gissing is instantly more enjoyable and its flaws more forgivable - it's a shame you only see it at the end.In summary; if you're a fan of Alan Rickman there IS enough here to make The Search for John Gissing enjoyable. If you're not, there's probably not a lot to hold your interest.

The Search for John Gissing is a fast paced film which would probably have been more suited to an audience in the 1970s than the modern day. The first 20 minutes or so were for this watcher, quite mortifying with Mike Binder doing what to all intent purposes seemed to be a representation of Woody Allen. That is fine if you like Woody Allen, but I don't...However, after the opening sequence, the film picked up considerably with the best comedic scenes being reserved (seperately) for Alan Rickman and Janeane Garofalo. In fact, it was a shame they had so few scenes together as it would probably have made the film a lot funnier. Alan Rickman seems to be enjoying the migration from much-loved villain and period actor to contemporary comedian and he successfully adds a lot of warmth and humour to this film. Janeane Garofalo was under-utlised in this film, seeming to only play an exasperated straightman to the angst of Mike Binder's character. The rest of the supporting cast were great - although I would love to meet a London taxi driver which will take someone all over London for 35 pounds...All in all, this is a warm and funny movie which will probably not get the recognition it deserves. However, this is a must see for Alan Rickman fans as he really is very good in this comedic role!

I am writing about a film, The search for john gissing which i saw not so long ago. I went on my own, as a lover of Alan Rickman, my friends do not see the attraction to this mans work like I. I sat, and enjoyed with laughter. The direction of the film was unique, giving a comical view to everything, gittered movements, and camera angles added amusement. The performance of all of the actors were supurb, from extras to the main cast its self. A totally enjotable film!