It’s a town full of losers and we’re pulling out of here to win.
-Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen
My single most anticipated movie of the last two years has finally arrived, was it worth the wait? I stayed clear of any form of spoilers and reviews, even shying away from clips posted online. Cemetery Junction was released on home video (only theatrical in the UK earlier this year) on August 17th; I bought the DVD (Blu-ray had nothing special) and hurried home. I watched the feature, the extras and then the feature once more with commentary by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Here is my reaction:
PLOT
In 1970s England, three friends spend their days joking, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie (Christian Cooke) wants to leave their working-class world but cool, charismatic Bruce (Tom Hughes) and lovable loser Snork (Jack Doolan) are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a new job as a door-to-door salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie (Felicity Jones), the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives forever. Written and Directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (creators of The Office and Extras).
REACTION
The idea of having to grow up is a constant theme in Gervais and Merchant’s work, in an interview Gervais stated the script was loosely based upon the lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen song “Thunder Road” [listen here]. For any Gervais fan (Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know…) it has all lead up to this.
Notable DVD Extras: Commentary with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant & Cast Commentary
Cemetery Junction is a coming-of-age story that is hilarious and heartfelt with performances that take control of the screen every chance they get. The soundtrack and set pieces are wonderful, the intense amount of work that went into this film shows. I expected a feel-good dramedy and that is certainly what I got, what I didn’t expect is just how formula is all was. It plays it very safe and predictable, never challenging itself or the viewer to take the ideas presented in another direction. You have seen it all before, but luckily it doesn’t come with such an adverse effect here.
I felt happy watching the film (bias love for Gervais aside) and getting to know the characters as they struggle along. The performance by Tom Hughes is one to note as eerily real, I really enjoyed his work here. Cemetery Junction’s strength comes from the relationships of the main three friends and you look forward to scenes involving the trio just as much as you would get together with your own circle of friends.
This film is clearly close to Gervais and Merchant’s heart, a love letter to England they have said. It’s nostalgia of days gone by; for better or worse. Gervais and Merchant are talented writers and it’s proven here that they have what it takes to take on feature films.
CHASE
I hope the duo does more challenging work (I’d love to see a full on drama) in the future and dig deeper into the heart and soul of people as we know they can do really well. They did it with Cemetery Junction, just not enough to leave much of a lasting impression. This is a nice movie that you won’t regret watching or even owning, you can always count on Ricky Gervais for that.
Tags: cemetery junction, reaction, review, ricky gervais, stephen merchant
