Bleach's Film Review

Cemetery Junction (2010)

It seams to me that Ricky Gervais is a man like marmite, you love him or you hate him. I am the former, for me everything the man touches is gold. The Office is television genius as is Extras. Ignoring small hick ups such as 2009s flop The Invention of Lying he really is a talented man. But im going to try and look at this from both sides, because there is something here for the lovers to love and the haters to storm out on.

Cemetery junction is life, ok it maybe set in the 70’s something i think the majority of people in my theatre did not experience, But the setting may change, people never change. The group of friends could be any group of friends, the confident one, the good looking one and the loveable looser. The story could be placed in any decade and still be relevant, its a story of growing up, or lack of growing up, and trying to find your place in a world that sometimes doesn’t want to know you. I don’t think the story however is the problem with this film, Its problem (if you consider it one) is that it doesnt know quite what it is supposed to be. Gervais and Stephen Merchant have both stronly stated that this is not a comedy, but alot of the lines seam to be there for cheap laughs, and this is gervais comedy down to the ground, the chringworthy talk at the breakfast table about “them blacks” had people in the theatre squirming in a way that nobody but Gervais can make you, but if this really isn’t a comedy why is it there?

Gervais for once in his own work takes somewhat of a back seat, not giving himself the lead (but somehow manages a lot of screen time)  but the lead charcter is so Gervais like that it is so obviously his handy-work, his name could be no where on this and people would be able to spot it from a mile. Not that this is a bad thing again, It all depends on what side of that love/hate line that you fall. It must be said that even if you hate the Gervaisness (if thats a word) of his character Christian Cooke plays it to perfection. 

What i will say of Cemetery junction is you really get a feeling of hope for the characters, the way you relate to them, makes you root for them, you want what they want, you hope that they will somehow manage to achieve their goals, and you hope that in the most possible cliched way that everything works out well in the end. The charcters develop well and every high builds up your own emotions untill the low comes and nocks them back again, and that is the genius for me of this film, the emotion it gets from the viewer watching people basically live thier life. 

From a cast point of view we have already discussed Cooke’s portrayal of freddy, But this cast manages to give great performances. Tom Hughes and Jack Doolan bounce off each other and Cooke so well you would think they were real life best friends. Ralph Fiennes Plays the asshole to perfection. For me the stand out in this one has to be Felicity Jones, A great performance from a promising actress. I look forward to seeing her in the future. 

This review i don’t think has done anything, And i think thats because there is nothing It can do, It wont make the haters like it anymore, and it wont make the lovers like it any less. It’s Gervais and Merchant, maybe not quite how we know them, but they are showing a side that was there all along in the office and extras and i think this really shows that scrape away at the cringeworthy comedy and there is something there. Something that might not make you laugh, but if your anything like me it will make you leave the theatre with a big smile on your face.

Cemetery Junction: 7/10. Gervais at his normal best, plenty here for the people that love him to love, but won’t convince the haters to do anything but hate him.