maureenfox-19518
Classic British film at its best, filled with both tears and laughter.The writer placing those one liners in that most of us wish we had the nerve to say but dont ,then regret that for years.The hardship of missing someone and the good that the people they leave behind find with the inclusion that dear departed left instilled within them.A truly lovely thought provoking film that will stay within your mind long after you watch it.
taylor_king-890-815491
Cynics beware, you will not like this film! For everyone else, this is a highly entertaining couple of hours watching accomplished British actors portray characters of a certain age struggle with lost loves, challenging conditions, and betrayal. These charismatic actors, that seem familiar to us because we've seen them in "Harry Potter" movies or BBC mysteries, engaged me in a heartbeat. They are natural and present themselves with the badges of aging without apology. The scripting was too broad and cliche in the beginning scenes, but I stopped thinking about that as the story unfolded and touching scenes won me over. And there is something about watching people dance themselves out of misery that is so beautiful, it renews my spirit!
bob-the-movie-man
There are some films whose trailers really don't properly represent their contents. The trailer for the new 'grey-pound' film "Finding Your Feet" promised a light hearted and witty foray into an elderly dance-club. And, yes, you get some laughs. But it's very much a bitter sweet comedy, and the bitterness is ladled on by the bucketload leading to more tears than smiles through the majority of the running time.Sandra (Imelda Staunton, "Pride") - now Lady Sandra, after her husband's latest knighthood - is in a predictable, sex-free but reasonably happy marriage to legal beagle Mike (John Sessions, "Denial", "Florence Foster Jenkins") when her world is shaken to its core on discovering that Mike has been having a five-year affair with her best friend Pamela (Josie Lawrence). Moving in with her Bohemian sister Bif (Celia Imrie, "Bridget Jones Baby"), she struggles to integrate into her decidedly lower class lifestyle and find common ground with Bif's dance club friends Charlie (Timothy Spall, "Denial", "Mr Turner"), Ted (David Hayman) and Jackie (Joanna Lumley, "The Wolf of Wall Street").Can Sandra turn her downward spiral around and find love and happiness again? Well, the posters scream "The Feel Good Film of the Year" so you don't need to be a rocket scientist to know the answer to that! But it's a bumpy journey for sure. Getting all the acting honours is Timothy Spall, who is far too good to be buried away in this small British rom com. To watch him do "ordinary bloke doing ordinary things" is an absolute delight. He adds class and distinction to every scene he's in, especially for those concerned with his truly tragic and upsetting back-story. Running a close second is Celia Imrie who has a wicked smile off to perfection and adds a lot of emotional depth to her performance: and she needs the range, since she too is on a pretty emotional journey through the second half of the film.John Sessions and Josie Lawrence - old compatriots of course from the original version of TV's "Whose Line Is It Anyway" - also deliver marvellous cameo performances, as does Phoebe Nicholls ("The Elephant Man", "Downton Abbey") as the tennis playing friend Janet. Less convincing for me was Imelda Staunton, particularly in the first half of the film: for me she never quite pulls off the icy cold emotional wreck of Sandra, but is much better once the thaw has set in.The film is written by Meg Leonard (in a debut script) and Nick Moorcroft (who did the "St Trinians" scripts). And there are some funny lines in there, although it has to be said that there are not enough of them. The majority of the best ones in fact are in the trailer, never bettered by Joanna Lumley's zinger.... "My last marriage ended for religious reasons.... he thought he was God and I didn't"! There's not much more room for comic lines, since the rest of the script is stuffed with the dramatic outcomes from various flavours of old-age malady. Fortunately I was one of the younger members of the generally grey-haired audience, but for those further up the scale it must have been like staring into the void!The film will win no awards for choreography, since the dance scenes are gloriously inept and out of sync. But this all rather adds to the charm of the piece. Directed by Richard Loncraine, director of the equally forgettable Brit-flick "Wimbledon" and the rather more memorable "Brimstone and Treacle", this is as Douglas Adams would have said "Mostly Harmless": a film that most over-50's will find a pleasant way to spend two hours. But go in expecting a drama with comic moments, rather than the hilarious comedy predicted by the trailer, and you will be better prepared.(I should comment that the rating below is my view: my illustrious wife declared it a triumphant chick-flick and gave it 9*!).
