(TV: The Book Group, Coming Soon, Seven Sins: Wrath, Music: Pet Shop Boys Somewhere)
Producers:
Christopher Young
Screenplay:
Annie Griffin
Director of Photography:
Daniel Cohen
(The Book Group, Dead Man's Shoes, Nathan Barley)
Music Score:
Jim Sutherland
(Taggart, Blue Heaven)
Cast:
Petra: Raquel Cassidy
Sean Sullivan: Stephen Mangan
Joan Gerard: Daniela Nardini
Faith Myers: Lyndsey Marshal
Brother Mike: Clive Russell
Nicky: Lucy Punch
Tommy O'Dwyer: Chris O'Dowd
Conor: Billy Carter
Anyone lucky enough to have seen Annie Griffin's previous work, the fabulously dark sitcom
The Book Group,
knows she is an expert at juggling multiple characters and plots - while
making you laugh and genuinely care about the flotsam and jetsam of their lives.
So you know you're in safe hands with her movie-directing debut,
Festival, for Griffin was once one of the ambitious artistes at
the Edinburgh Festival herself.
If you like infighting and backbiting and the minutiae of Edinburgh in August,
or if you have performed at or witnessed similar events, then this will seem
all too familiar. But the warning sticker on this ensemble comedy should
inform you that while you're guffawing at the characters' exploits, you'll
probably also find yourself awash with sadness for their situations.
They cannot live without approval and all are dysfunctional on some level.
Whether they triumph or fail at the festival, their futures look precarious
and nervous breakdowns beckon.
This timeless and frequently explicit journey around the nooks and crannies
of the fringe lets us drop in on artistes and their perversely experimental
acts as if we were regular, hyperactive, sleep-deprived audience members
(and voyeuristic peeping toms).
Part Canterbury Tales (but now in Edinburgh), part Ben Jonson for the 21st
Century, the central thread of this ribald chamber piece concerns the annual
stand-up comedy award. Which gives us a chance to witness the hilarious, but
all-too-credible judging process and the increasingly desperate actions of
the contestants as they seek the jurors' approval while their own self-esteem
is systematically dismantled.
Performances are universally strong and sympathetic, though Stephen Mangan's
knowing impersonation of an egotistical 'comedy genius' might be stretching
our sympathy a bit too far. Raquel Cassidy, who plays Mangan's put-upon
publicist, gives a wonderful intense miniature of an alcoholic struggling to
keep her charge, let alone her life, under control.
Daniel Nardini is
perfect as the bitter radio journalist who despises pretty much everyone,
especially the obnoxious Mangan, but she is forced to both report on and
judge the festival. And we witness the aptly named Faith, played by Lyndsey
Marshall, as she has her optimism tested at her first Edinburgh fringe
while Brother Mike (Clive Russell) comes to terms with his - and his
character's - inner turmoil.
Other sub-plots cover a frankly pretentious, visiting Canadian theatre group,
two Irish comedians and veterans of the festival (Chris O'Dowd and Billy
Carter) and new comedienne Nicky (Lucy Punch).
In the end, it doesn't really matter who wins the award, but the disastrous
ceremony itself is marvellous. Similarly, it won't necessarily make you want
to visit the festival, but will give you a better understanding of what makes
those the weird and wonderful performers tick. A secret summer treat.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Anyone lucky enough to have seen Annie Griffin's previous work, the fabulously dark sitcom
Part Canterbury Tales (but now in Edinburgh), part Ben Jonson for the 21st
Century, the central thread of this ribald chamber piece concerns the annual
stand-up comedy award. Which gives us a chance to witness the hilarious, but
all-too-credible judging process and the increasingly desperate actions of
the contestants as they seek the jurors' approval while their own self-esteem
is systematically dismantled.