Wednesday, 22 October 2003

Arts

Film: The Man Who Sued God

Second film of the week, and it's nice, it's pleasant, it's alright.

OK I'll admit I didn't go in with particularly high expectations, and let's be honest, Billy Connelly isn't going to be convincing as a Scottish once-lawyer-now-fisherman living in Australia. (His brother in the film has a strong Australian accent; at one point he's referred to as the "Irish fella"; you wonder whose geography we're using here.)

It has its flaws (plenty of continuity mistakes, and a sometimes tripping pace), but it's pleasant enough. A film that doesn't dwell on God so much as the insurance notion of the "act of God". Don't expect too much deep thought here; pause briefly at the absurdity of our acceptance of insurance companies using catch-all clauses to wiggle out of paying ("the great lie"), then move on.

Move on to the nice stuff. The romance. The "who'll raise my child" dilemma, the little guy beating the big guy, the selfless acts for the masses. (It's worth noting though that at least Australian cinema seems immune to Hollywood's need to glamourise everything; how great to see the journalist that helps Connelly's character is a firey fortysomething, rather than a just-left-college bimbette.)

Pleasant, nice, alright. Not one to avoid, but not a film to go out of your way to see either. A film to rent on video, maybe. Or one to watch at the cinema on a slow Wednesday afternoon in October.

Posted by pab at 22:15