Director: Robert Carlyle
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Emma Thompson, Ray Winstone, Ashley Jensen, Tom Courtney, James Cosmo, Martin Compston
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rating: 15
Release Date:Â July 24th, 2015
It’s no wonder that Edinburgh film festival opened with Robert Carlyle’s directorial debut of THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMPSON with its amazing cast, spot on accents and bizarre yet entertaining storyline.
Carlyle, best known for firecracker performances in films such as TRAINSPOTTING, THE FULL MONTY and the TV series ONCE UPON A TIME, stars as Barney Thomson a quiet, hapless barber devoid of charm sitting in the shadow of his fellow barbers in Bridgeton, Glasgow. After an accident resulting in him murdering his boss Barney, he is racked with guilt and worry as Detective Inspector Holdall (Ray Winstone) of the City of Glasgow Police begins to investigate missing person reports while a serial murderer is sending chopped up pieces of body around Scotland to the victim’s families.
As his guilt gets the better of him, he soon has no choice but to turn for help to his mother Cemolina, a foul mouthed, gambling, and bingo loving Glaswegian woman played by the wonderful Emma Thompson. This is a hilarious yet uncharacteristic role for Thompson who is a wonderful addition to the chaos of Barney’s life. As his mother tries to help him, in her own unique way, Barney soon discovers many things about his family and the people around him that he wishes he would never have find out.
The film was adapted by Richard Cowan and Colin McLaren from the first in the series of seven Barney Thomson books based on Douglas Lindsay’s Scottish novel The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson. Carlyle creates a typical pulp fiction British film reminiscent of classics such as LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH.
The fantastic cast including Ray Winstone as the beefy cockney policeman and Ashley Jensen as the feisty Scottish officer bounce off each other so well not to mention the fantastic make up detail for Thompson.
For a directorial debut THE LEGEND OF BARNEY THOMSON is a funny and twisted film, which will make the audience grin and cringe all at the same time.
Verdict
I hope Emma Thompson in nomination Oscar actress in a supporting role for The Legend of Barney Thomson.
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