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Heyday!
R2 - United Kingdom - Simply Media Review written by and copyright: Matthew Crossman (1st February 2016). |
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The Film
 Terry Fleming (Adam Butcher) is sixteen years old and lives with his Irish parents in Newfoundland during the second World War not far from Gander airport. Terry dreams of working at Gander as a waiter, which is proclaimed to be ‘The Gateway to the World at War’. His next door neighbour, the glamorous Laurie (Joanne Kelly) works at Gander and says she can get him a job. Terry is desperate to work there where not only do servicemen depart for the war but also some of Hollywood’s most glamorous names such as Bob Hope. Unfortunately Terry’s Mother is extremely ill having been diagnosed with diphtheria so Terry stays at home with his Father tending to his Mother. Terry has a special bond with his Mother as they both love the cinema and the Hollywood stars that populate the silver screen. Where Terry’s Mother’s illness gets worse their home is quarantined. Terry then escapes into a make believe world where he works at Gander and meets all the stars and is looked up to by many of them. However, back in the real world Terry’s Mother is getting worse. This made for television film was first shown in 2006. Written and Directed by Gordon Pinsent, the film is made up of Pinsent’s real experiences of living not too far from Gander during the Second World War. Pinsent’s decision to weave Terry’s real World with that of his fantasy is an interesting idea but ultimately this is a film with little ambition or direction which means that it fails to grab the audiences attention. It’s a slow moving film with many scenes of characters just sitting and staring and conversations often seem to take an age to conclude. Whilst the scenes in Terry’s actual World are suitably depressing, as they should be, the fantasy scenes never lift the mood from the depression making for a rather dismal viewing. The film’s lack of sets makes it feel very much as if it’s more attuned to the theatre than the big or small screen, especially the sets of Gander which is just one medium set dressed in sparse black and white. Pinsent weaves in a fantasy about a spy which Terry uses to entertain his Mother with but the whole storyline is spoken by Terry rather than shown to the audience. It’s a cold film which does not entice the viewer in anyway, shape or form. The cast performances are decent. Joanne Kelly as the feisty and glamorous Laurie comes across best and she seems to really enjoy playing the role. Adam Butcher’s Irish accent comes and goes, which can be distracting but the parts of his Mother and Father are well realised. The film’s limitations as a television movie shine through too much and ultimately scupper an over ambitious script for this type of medium. A low key, low budget television movie about a young man looking after his Mother whilst wanting to go and see the more glamorous side of life. One feels that the budget ultimately scuppers any ambition that Director/Writer Pinsent may have had for the movie. The cast is small, but able and the sets are even smaller and barely dressed. The lack of any real conflict in the story means that the film sort of meanders to it’s conclusion and because of the hollow feel to the entire production it’s difficult for audience members to feel any emotions, good or bad, towards the characters and their predicaments. The entire film feels rather empty. Because the story is based on the Director’s real life experiences I’m sure it meant something to him but for people with no connection to the production there is just not enough to hold interest for very long.
Video
The picture is presented at a ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphic. Colours are extremely muted on screen not that there is much colour splashed about in the production. The scenes set in Gander are almost black and white because of the set dressing anyway and the scenes set in Terry’s house are all drab browns. The only colours that do stand out are those of Laurie, in particular her deep scarlet lipstick. The picture is also crawling with artefacts which lend a haze to several scenes. In general it’s a low grade presentation of a low grade film.
Audio
The sound is presented in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. As everything else about ‘Heyday’ is understated it’s no surprise that the audio mix is too. The musical side of the soundtrack is made up of either Glenn Miller type band tunes or doleful piano renditions. These do not compromise the dialogue parts of the film and the overall sound mix is acceptable. There are no subtitles of any kind available.
Extras
None.
Overall
A brave attempt at something different that probably would have worked much better had the budget been bigger. A definite theatre type feel to the production makes it feel nice and cosy but the pace that the story unfolds at seems to kill any impetus the plot may have. Those that may remember the dying days of World War Two may get a kick from this intimate story but I fear that for today's audiences the slow pace and the meandering plot may just be too much.
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