Film Review with Robert Mann – Cemetery Junction

17th April 2010

Cemetery Junction ****

The second directorial effort from Ricky Gervais is not a Ricky Gervais movie per se. His new film Cemetery Junction, which sees him writing and directing alongside long time writing partner Stephen Merchant, does not feature Gervais as its star, with him only playing quite a small role and Merchant only appearing in a cameo. Instead, this coming of age tale set in 1970s Reading boasts a cast made up mostly of young up and coming stars, (although a few bigger names do feature as well). Also, while many people will likely go into this film expecting a comedy in the vein of Gervais’s past work, what we get here is rather a drama that happens to feature a few (or should I say lots of) funny moments.

It’s the glam rock-era of 1970s England and the small city of Reading feels about as far as you can possibly get from where the action is. But for Freddie Taylor (Christian Cooke) and his two best friends Bruce Pearson (Tom Hughes) and Snork (Jack Doolan), this is all they’ve ever known. As they spend their days joking, drinking, chasing girls, fighting and running afoul of police officers Sgt.Wyn Davies (Steve Speirs) and Renwick (Burn Gorman), Freddie can’t help wondering if they’re wasting their lives. Desiring to avoid being stuck there his whole life, working in a factory every day but never having anything to show for it like his father Len (Ricky Gervais), he yearns to leave their cosy-but-blinkered environment and see what the rest of the world has to offer – but cool, charismatic Bruce and lovable loser Snork are happy with life the way it is, or so they claim to be, as Bruce has long talked about leaving but never gets around to doing so. When Freddie gets a new job working as a door to door insurance salesman for Mr Kendrick (Ralph Fiennes) and bumps into his former school sweetheart Julie (Felicity Jones), who is engaged to Freddie’s colleague Mike Ramsay (Matthew Goode), the gang are forced to face up to the future and make some difficult choices.

From a technical standpoint, no one can deny that Cemetery Junction is a very well made film. A sort of passion project for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (it is based on their own real life experiences growing up and Freddie’s family is inspired by Gervais’ real life family), it is clear that they have put a lot of effort into creating a truly authentic feel of what it was like to live in a small British town during the 1970s with the look and feel of the period being captured perfectly and period Reading being lovingly recreated in authentic detail with every facet – costume design, set design, locations, props, cars, dialogue and even character attitudes towards race, etc. – that features in the film really capturing the essence of 1970s Britain. There is a distinct sense of realism in everything that we see, the 1970s setting not being used so much to portray the culture of the period but rather as a window into the monotony of existence in a place where you feel you cannot escape. This proves to be the perfect setting for the coming of age tale that is told here, the realistic elements allowing for characters and situations that many will be able to relate to, even today. While the film is realistic, it also manages to be somewhat escapist as well. Stephen Merchant said in a recent interview that what the film shows is “a slightly more romanticized vision of how we remember growing up” and this is a pretty good summisation of what is shown here, with the film reflecting the wonder of youth rather than all out gritty realism but still having enough of a sense of reality for everything that happens to be completely believable. The film is a drama first and foremost and in this regard it really does deliver but it has plenty of laugh out loud moments as well and it is in this regard that the film may divide moviegoers. This being a film by Ricky Gervais you will likely know already whether or not this will be a film for you as the kind of humour we get here will be appreciated by some but not by others, just as is the case with any film by Gervais. A considerable amount of humour is extremely crude – thus, anyone who is easily offended probably won’t appreciate it – and based around heavy profanities but there is something refreshingly honest about it that means it doesn’t seem too obscene or gratuitous. The film provides lots of very funny and very true observations about life and what it means to really live and this is what really drives the film – a truthful, honest and no holds barred representation of real people trying to find happiness in their lives, whether it be by finding a way out of the dead end place where they live or by discovering that what they really need or want has been right there all along. All this is put across very well thanks to the combined writing skills of Gervais and Merchant who deliver a script that delivers on most levels. The dialogue is snappy, humourous and sounds authentic. The characters are all extremely well developed, each with their own individual quirks. And the story is engaging, combining aspects of tragedy and comedy with expert precision. The film also delivers on the acting front with every member of the cast, old or young, big name or rising star, delivering strong, believable performances and perfectly capturing the dialect. Bigger stars such as Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson (as Mrs Kendrick), Steve Speirs, Burn Gorman, Julia Davis (as Freddie’s mother), Anne Reid (as Freddie’s grandmother) and Ricky Gervais deliver exactly the standard we expect of them but the spotlight is really stolen by the younger cast members. The friendship dynamic shared between Christian Cooke, Tom Hughes and Jack Doolan is absolutely spot on perfect, their friendship seeming completely real, even when their lives seem headed in different directions. The real revelations, though, are Cooke and Felicity Jones, who not only share a fantastic chemistry but also deliver superbly on their own terms, both having charisma and emotion to spare. Both are definitely stars to watch out for in the future. Overall, Cemetery Junction is a well made and, charming very enjoyable coming of age tale that won’t be appreciated by everyone but is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of Ricky Gervais or like films that provide a fond look at the past of Great Britain.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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