★ 2 / 10
A film that could have been quite good
R T
a film that could have been quite good, but fails dismally in the acting, script, and overall execution of this film. billy connolly was great, but that's a…
a film that could have been quite good, but fails dismally in the acting, script, and overall execution of this film. billy connolly was great, but that's a given. points of this film make you wonder whether this boy is really talking to angels or is just using an overactive imagination, but doesn't give enough one way or the other. a shame because this film did have potential.
★ 5 / 10
A tender but well-handled story of one boy
R T
A tender but well-handled story of one boy finding meaning in life when the world around him closes in.
A tender but well-handled story of one boy finding meaning in life when the world around him closes in.
★ 5 / 10
Written by Lee Hall, fresh off the success
R T
Written by Lee Hall, fresh off the success of Billy Elliot (2000), this was based on a radio play he did for BBC Radio 4 in 1995 entitled I Luv You Jimmy Spud.…
Written by Lee Hall, fresh off the success of Billy Elliot (2000), this was based on a radio play he did for BBC Radio 4 in 1995 entitled I Luv You Jimmy Spud. Directed by Udayan Prasad (My Son the Fanatic (1997) and The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)), this is a very offbeat drama with a sugary, sentimental tone, although it has some very good performances, it's oddness does work against it in a way. In the Byker Wall region of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, loner schoolboy Jimmy Spud (Sean Landless) is either bullied or neglected at school, and at home, his once loving father (Iain Glen) has turned quite nasty and violent towards him, his mother (Rosie Rowell) seems poweless to stop the father's mood swings, while Jimmy's grandfather (David Bradley) is kindly and caring. Inspiring by happier times when Jimmy was thrown in the air by his father, he wants to become an angel. He has made a crude angels costume from an old dress with feathers from his grandfather's pigeon lofts. Then Gabriel (Billy Connolly) appears to Jimmy, aiding him. While it's not a complete disaster, it does get a bit mawkish for it's own good, and it doesn't have the warmth or optimism that Billy Elliot had, plus it's quite short, (the film was recut before release), and with Connolly as Gabriel, he should have had the opportunity to add humour to the proceedings. But that never happened.
11%
AUDIENCE
· 50 ratings
4.9/10
195
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Too bad this is cropped to 4:3. The original was widescreen.