I must admit, I had my reservations about this film. Up until this point, John McPhail and his team had been the top dogs of short filmmaking and it was a concern whether the same momentum would transfer to a feature length project. However, I'm glad to say I was wrong to be concerned and that McPhail did not disappoint and instead excelled with this delightfully charming story.
On a technical note, the film is relatively flawless. McPhail has once again delivered a solid script that keeps the audience in stitches from start to finish as well as bringing them close to tears in some very moving moments especially in the films opening montage. The film has been beautifully shot by Grant McPhee and further enhanced in grading by Jon Bruce. My only gripe with the film was a few editing issues but on the whole it was an impressive job from McPhail.
The casting of the film was spot on. For me, Alison Peebles completely stole the show as Joan and was brilliant in scenes opposite Richard Addison and Deirdre Murray where her characters comedic timing was perfect. Lucy-Jane Quinlan as Jen was another excellent choice and it was a shame to see she missed out on the Best Actress accolade at the 2015 Sydney Indie Film Festival. Lastly but by no means least, a special mention should go out to Tyler Collins in the lead role as James. For an American Actor to not only perfect a Scottish accident but deliver the lines in a natural way that a Scottish audience can relate to is an outstanding achievement and shows how talented and diverse an actor he is.
Compliments should also be paid to the Andrew Lanni and Lauren Lamarr in their positions of the films producers. There are people who for some reason criticise filmmakers who work with the same cast and crew on a regular basis but bugger it, if it works, it works and this film is a prime example of how a close knit team can work so well together and produce incredible results.
I was very fortunate to catch this film at its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in what was essentially a home crowd for John McPhail. The extended applause at the end of the film as the credits went up the screen highlighted for me our industries overwhelming admiration for McPhail's talent as a filmmaker. He has done himself and his team proud with this film and I hope it becomes the springboard that propels McPhail and co onto bigger projects in the industry.
On a technical note, the film is relatively flawless. McPhail has once again delivered a solid script that keeps the audience in stitches from start to finish as well as bringing them close to tears in some very moving moments especially in the films opening montage. The film has been beautifully shot by Grant McPhee and further enhanced in grading by Jon Bruce. My only gripe with the film was a few editing issues but on the whole it was an impressive job from McPhail.
The casting of the film was spot on. For me, Alison Peebles completely stole the show as Joan and was brilliant in scenes opposite Richard Addison and Deirdre Murray where her characters comedic timing was perfect. Lucy-Jane Quinlan as Jen was another excellent choice and it was a shame to see she missed out on the Best Actress accolade at the 2015 Sydney Indie Film Festival. Lastly but by no means least, a special mention should go out to Tyler Collins in the lead role as James. For an American Actor to not only perfect a Scottish accident but deliver the lines in a natural way that a Scottish audience can relate to is an outstanding achievement and shows how talented and diverse an actor he is.
Compliments should also be paid to the Andrew Lanni and Lauren Lamarr in their positions of the films producers. There are people who for some reason criticise filmmakers who work with the same cast and crew on a regular basis but bugger it, if it works, it works and this film is a prime example of how a close knit team can work so well together and produce incredible results.
I was very fortunate to catch this film at its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in what was essentially a home crowd for John McPhail. The extended applause at the end of the film as the credits went up the screen highlighted for me our industries overwhelming admiration for McPhail's talent as a filmmaker. He has done himself and his team proud with this film and I hope it becomes the springboard that propels McPhail and co onto bigger projects in the industry.