Once Upon A Time In the Midlands

The title may evoke associations to the western genre, and if you cast settings aside, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands does feature elements from films of for example John Ford or John Sturges. The story is about loner Jimmy who comes back to town after a long absence, chased by a trio of not so clever bankrobbers. His mission is to win his former girlfriend Shirley and their now 12-year-old daughter Marlene back. But Shirley's new boyfriend, nerdy car mechanic Dek, is a problem standing in his way to happiness. So far the western structure seems pretty intact. Jimmy's brother-in-law is even a country-singer wannabe. But director Shane Meadows' third feature is, like his previous films, set in present-time Nottingham area and not in some mountain landscape of the 19th century. And Meadows also choose to focus on human relations over six-shooters and nature/civilization-conflicts. In an overall extraordinary ensemble two performances especially stand out: Finn Atkins as Marlene proves that Meadows has a magic ability to get the best out of young actors. And, after a number of odd-ball performances, a delightfully regular, boring and normal Rhys Ifans does his best role (as Dek) so far. DAN FRÖBERG

Medverkande
Robert Carlyle,Vanessa Feitz,Ricky Tomlinson: Producent
Andrea Calderwood: Manus
Paul Fraser: Foto
Brian Tufano: Musik
John Lunn: Talat språk
English