Film Review: Cemetery Junction

Director: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Screenwriter: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Main Cast: Christian Cooke, Ricky Gervais, Julia Davis, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan, Felicity Jones, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson.
Runtime: 95 minutes
Certificate: 15 (UK)
Brief Summary: A 1970s-set comedy centered on three upstart professional men working at an insurance company.
Tagline: Be Young. Be Free. Be Somebody
(source:IMDB).

Ricky Gervais returns to his roots in Cemetery Junction, a film about his hometown, Reading during the 1970s. However, Gervais takes a backseat in this film and plays the father to Cooke's lead. I'm a big fan of Gervais and Merchant's work so I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed. Although completely different from The Office and Extras, Cemetery Junction is a perfect blend of comedy and drama, and results in a completely heartfelt story. The opening of the film appeared to be quite serious, and I grew anxious that I had just assumed it to be a comedy before finding out what it was really about. I needn't have worried, as the comedy simply flourished as the film continued, leading to the whole audience roaring with laughter. The film grew on me too, I found that it just got better as it went along.

The characters were all totally believable. The charismatic Tom Hughes is definitely one to watch, and I was surprised to discover he hasn't appeared in much else. Emily Watson, as Julie's mother, is very good at portraying her sad and lonely lifestyle through minimal dialogue and the family scenes with Cooke, Davis, Gervais and Anne Reid (Freddie's Gran) are brilliantly funny, but there's not nearly enough of them in my opinion.

Yes, the plot is slightly predictable, but the writing and acting are so well administered that they deliver exactly what the producers set out to achieve, a film that perfectly captures the 'good old days'. Of course, I can't vouch for how those times were, and I'm sure that if I was to live through then, it probably wouldn't be so blithe all the time, but this film successfully creates that perception, aided by the brilliant soundtrack.

It has been suggested that this film would better suit a television audience but I disagree. The cinematography in Cemetery Junction is thoroughly suited to the big screen.

My rating:3.5/5