Albie is a resident in a retirement home along with three cronies including the brilliantly crotchety Ranjeet. It is the 24th December and all they want for Christmas, is booze. Deprived of their elixir by a young worker in the home named Adam, they plot their rebellion.
The film is beautifully shot, and features a hilarious parody of a chase scene as the residents fight each other down a corridor to get the keys to the cupboard where the booze has been stored.
From the start Albie is distinguished from the others as he has his wife with him. It is made clear that he is a bit of a loner because he sits apart from the other residents and rather than being involved with their conversations, seems to look on. He is not initially involved in the plot to reclaim the alcohol but does eventually take charge as he bears an air of "the responsible one".
We gain further insight into Albie as he sits with the bound and gagged Adam talking to him, calmly refusing to untie him until he has said his piece. He tells Adam, and the viewer, how lucky this generation is and reflects upon the trials he and his peers faced to get us to where we are today. He enlightens us to their situation of mortality and suddenly the funny desperation for booze becomes sad, as we realise that perhaps the residents of this old age home need the alcohol more than just want it. This is no longer a spoof heist film about old people getting their drink. This is a film about looking at your own mortality head on and realising just how short life can feel.
The film comes full circle, back to Albie in his bedroom having a conversation with his wife similar to the one he had at the start of the film. The final shot of Albie hearing his wife's voice in his head and having a conversation with her, listening to her favourite record is incredibly moving.
My only (admittedly pedantic) criticism is that near the beginning there is a shot of a single glass of gin, rather than two glasses which gives away the twist that Dee, Albie's wife, is not really there. I think that without that image, there are enough hints that she's not real (the fact that it appears to be an all male home for example, was enough to confirm my suspicion) and certainly the end would be even more poignant if we didn't know it before. However this is only a minor point and did not impact on my enjoyment of the film.
This is a film full of truth and an insight into a stage of life that is perhaps not given enough attention to in reality and on film. The film is a joy to watch and I highly recommend it.
The film is beautifully shot, and features a hilarious parody of a chase scene as the residents fight each other down a corridor to get the keys to the cupboard where the booze has been stored.
From the start Albie is distinguished from the others as he has his wife with him. It is made clear that he is a bit of a loner because he sits apart from the other residents and rather than being involved with their conversations, seems to look on. He is not initially involved in the plot to reclaim the alcohol but does eventually take charge as he bears an air of "the responsible one".
We gain further insight into Albie as he sits with the bound and gagged Adam talking to him, calmly refusing to untie him until he has said his piece. He tells Adam, and the viewer, how lucky this generation is and reflects upon the trials he and his peers faced to get us to where we are today. He enlightens us to their situation of mortality and suddenly the funny desperation for booze becomes sad, as we realise that perhaps the residents of this old age home need the alcohol more than just want it. This is no longer a spoof heist film about old people getting their drink. This is a film about looking at your own mortality head on and realising just how short life can feel.
The film comes full circle, back to Albie in his bedroom having a conversation with his wife similar to the one he had at the start of the film. The final shot of Albie hearing his wife's voice in his head and having a conversation with her, listening to her favourite record is incredibly moving.
My only (admittedly pedantic) criticism is that near the beginning there is a shot of a single glass of gin, rather than two glasses which gives away the twist that Dee, Albie's wife, is not really there. I think that without that image, there are enough hints that she's not real (the fact that it appears to be an all male home for example, was enough to confirm my suspicion) and certainly the end would be even more poignant if we didn't know it before. However this is only a minor point and did not impact on my enjoyment of the film.
This is a film full of truth and an insight into a stage of life that is perhaps not given enough attention to in reality and on film. The film is a joy to watch and I highly recommend it.