Hiding his landlord's dead body becomes the least of a social miscast's problems in this offbeat indie comedy starring Little Britain's Matt Lucas. Quirky touches frequently abound as Lucas converses with his dog (who talks back!) and converses with his own reflection (which also talks back) though there is also room to wonder how much here is weird simply for the sake of it; there are several shots of Lucas prancing around in his underwear - even outside he never seems to wear pants. There is one very funny, darkly comic moment as his staging of his landlord's death as suicide backfires, however, best moments here belong to the supporting cast with James Caan as a grouchy neighbour, a near-unrecognisable Dolph Lundgren as an eccentric self-help book author and an equally near unrecognisable Peter Storemare as the odious landlord. The film is so reliant on oddball elements though that things fall apart near the end as the narrative takes a sharp, dramatic turn when Lucas discovers some unexpected things about his brother. The final scene also feels terribly banal for a movie that otherwise has originality written all over it. That said, there is a lot to like in how the events of the film indirectly lead to justice being carried out with regards to two supporting characters. The setting is pretty nifty too with 'Rear Window' parallels in plentiful supply, and the film almost serves as a comical spin on the seminal Hitchcock movie with the extreme oblivion of all residents to the landlord's disappearance - and his body being dragged out in full view at night!
Review of Small Apartments
