Thursday 27 September 2018

REVIEW: Strangeways Here We Come (film) - The New Adelphi Theatre, University, Salford.



Although 'Strangeways Here We Come' shares a title with the final, bold, album by The Smiths, this film has no connection to the 1980s indie band (except for the use of the Salford Lads Club building in one shot). This film is a comedy-drama set amongst the high rises near the Salford Precinct around Pendleton. 'Strangeways Here We Come' looks at the lives of several residents in the high rises and the people around them, showing us the funny side of life in Salford as well as the more dangerous part, as the spectre of Strangeways prison (nowadays known simply as ‘HMP Manchester'), looms large. There’s an unfortunate postman whom never seems to be able to catch a break, former boxer Brian (James Foster) whose career was ended by a stroke, single mother Jean (Ania Swoinski) whose teenage son Ollie loves to act like a ‘gangsta’ with his ball-bearing gun, university friends Demi (Michelle Keegan), Sian (Saffron Hocking), and Becki (Chanel Cresswell), Walter White wannabe Marvin (Perry Fitzpatrick), convinced he can cook up a killer batch of crystal meth to sell, and his girlfriend Shelly (Lauren Socha), Aaron (Oliver Coopersmith) who spends the opening part of the film dressed as a superhero after doing a deal with God so his dying mother could have one more day, taxi driver and pill-pusher Max (Mark Sheals), and window-cleaner and sexually needy Lucy (Nina Wadia).

The film’s mix of comedy and drama, as well as its working-class milieu, recalled the early film work of Shane Meadows (especially 'A Room For Romeo Brass'), and writer-director Chris Green has scripted and overseen the final product with considerable skill. The film’s plot revolves around the residents coming together to deal with local loan shark and all-round bully Danny Nolan (Stephen Lord). When he torments several residents, they turn the tables on him and soon they face the prospect of a life without Nolan harassing them but having to keep a secret about what is buried under a patch of grass in the estate’s communal garden (aside from the residents’ dead pets, that is). When Nolan’s wife (Elaine Cassidy) appears on the scene to find out what has happened to her husband, friendships are strained, and misunderstandings ensue.

All the performances are brilliant, with Keegan’s studious, quiet Demi being a world away from the performances she gave in 'Coronation Street' and 'Our Girl' and Hoxking and Cresswell give believable performances as her friends, both demonstrating superb comic touches. Swoinski brings a real sense of pathos as Jean and Foster’s weather-beaten face perfectly encapsulates the sense of resignation which Brian has, as he continues to adjust to his life after his stroke. As Aaron, Coopersmith has a suitable air of naivety about him, although he is far from innocent as Lucy is thrilled to find out after his party to celebrate his final day of wearing his superhero costume. The funniest performance, however, comes from Sheals who gets all the best lines and has an incredibly expressive face. On the other side of the scale, Lord is terrifying and unsettling as Nolan – his piercing stare bringing forth a real sense that Nolan is liable to fly off the handle in a fit of rage at any given moment. Likewise, Cassidy is intensely stern in her initial appearance and there is the very real sense that Nolan’s wife is worse than the man himself was.

The film straddles the line between portraying a gritty slice of life in Salford and some often-absurdist comedic moments, especially when Marvin’s home-cooked crystal meth turns out to have an aphrodisiac effect. If one scene were to sum-up the film, it would have to be the scene following the residents getting their revenge on Nolan. As they sit there, coming to terms with what they’ve done, Aaron brings in a tray with tea and biscuits on. It’s a black comedic moment but one that is emblematic of the film, indeed life itself for many people who live similar lives to those of the film’s protagonists: the mix of the mundane with the extraordinary. If there is one part where the film misjudges its juggling of tones, then it is during the section where Nolan’s wife goes from being a sinister presence searching for her husband and to a horny, almost zombie-like, figure courtesy of Marvin’s meth – in amongst the growing tension of whether our avenged residents will get away with what they have done, the cutting back to what is, essentially, something from a sex comedy does feel somewhat jarring.

Aside from that one element, and a purely personally subjective criticism at that, 'Strangeways Here We Come' is a solidly made, consistently hilarious film which deserves support on its limited cinema release and is a reminder of the passion and energy that independent cinema has, and tells a story with true Northern heart and soul.

Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 26/9/18

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