Sightseers (2012)
Directed by Ben Wheatley
Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn.
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The story here is something like "Badlands" set in the Midlands, as a repressed, awkward woman who lives with her domineering mother embarks on a caravan trip with her new boyfriend.
"Sightseers" is part travelogue and part killing spree, and Tina and Chris rightfully take their place with other murderous couples on the run, from Annie and Barton in "Gun Crazy" (1950) to Kit and Holly in " Badlands " (1973) to Mickey and Mallory in " Natural Born Killers " (1994).
From They Live By Night and Gun Crazy to Bonnie & Clyde and Badlands to Natural Born Killers and Thelma & Louise, the doomed-couple road movie has a longstanding tradition in cinema.
Basically, think Natural Born Killers, Badlands, and Bonnie and Clyde, only rather than the perpetrators being lovers-on-the-run, robbers fighting the system, or just pure psychopaths killing for the hell of it, Tina and Chris are instead just average schlubs, only killing because it makes their holiday that much more convenient.
While its offbeat quirkiness and plethora of specific cultural and geographical references make it likely to play best to UK audiences, with careful handling this raucously enjoyable hybrid of two very different 1970s classics - Terence Malick's ever-influential Badlands and Mike Leigh's teleplay Nuts In May - might also spawn a cult international following as a surefire midnight-movie option for festivals, and on DVD/VOD.
The deliciously dark Englishness of the film – Nuts In May meets Badlands comes pretty close to summing it up – and the sheer oddness of its lead characters will naturally make Sightseers something of an acquired taste, but it is filmed with such visual panache and sense of humour that cult status should be guaranteed.
"Sightseers" is part travelogue and part killing spree, and Tina and Chris rightfully take their place with other murderous couples on the run, from Annie and Barton in "Gun Crazy" (1950) to Kit and Holly in " Badlands " (1973) to Mickey and Mallory in " Natural Born Killers " (1994).
From They Live By Night and Gun Crazy to Bonnie & Clyde and Badlands to Natural Born Killers and Thelma & Louise, the doomed-couple road movie has a longstanding tradition in cinema.
It’s not necessarily going to be a movie for everyone, but if you appreciate the gonzo-esque qualities of films like Natural Born Killers and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Sightseers has exactly what you’re looking for.
Basically, think Natural Born Killers, Badlands, and Bonnie and Clyde, only rather than the perpetrators being lovers-on-the-run, robbers fighting the system, or just pure psychopaths killing for the hell of it, Tina and Chris are instead just average schlubs, only killing because it makes their holiday that much more convenient.
Expert modulation of disparate tones within the same scene ensures that while this is yet another road-movie about a murderously amorous couple - a tradition that includes Leonard Kastle's The Honeymoon Killers, Tony Scott's Natural Born Killers and even Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde - Wheatley and company's new variation has a wit, brio and panache entirely its own.
Despite their murderous ways, Chris and Tina are always presented with real affection (as are their holiday plans) and their oddball romance (very Natural Born Killers with a low-key British suburban twist) tender as they face the ‘trials’ of their relationship.
It's Bonnie and Clyde by way of EastEnders and The League of Gentlemen.
Basically, think Natural Born Killers, Badlands, and Bonnie and Clyde, only rather than the perpetrators being lovers-on-the-run, robbers fighting the system, or just pure psychopaths killing for the hell of it, Tina and Chris are instead just average schlubs, only killing because it makes their holiday that much more convenient.
Expert modulation of disparate tones within the same scene ensures that while this is yet another road-movie about a murderously amorous couple - a tradition that includes Leonard Kastle's The Honeymoon Killers, Tony Scott's Natural Born Killers and even Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde - Wheatley and company's new variation has a wit, brio and panache entirely its own.