It’s strange that as mannered a film as Carl Hunter’s Scrabble-loving debut feature “Sometimes Always Never” should yield one of Bill Nighy’s very least mannered — and best — performances, but then, these are strange times. They were strange back in 2018 when this British production, based on a screenplay by celebrated screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce premiered at the London Film Festival. They will no doubt still be strange in July when, after its stateside run in “virtual cinemas,” the film will bow on VOD. And they were certainly strange in the alternate, anachronistic present-day England in which the film is set.
Nighy, fielding a soft but convincing Liverpudlian lilt, plays widowed father, grandfather, bespoke tailor and Scrabble hustler Alan, a character who combines the actor’s easy rakishness, dapper style and stiffly diffident Englishness. Alan has spent many dogged years searching for his son Michael, who stormed out of...
Nighy, fielding a soft but convincing Liverpudlian lilt, plays widowed father, grandfather, bespoke tailor and Scrabble hustler Alan, a character who combines the actor’s easy rakishness, dapper style and stiffly diffident Englishness. Alan has spent many dogged years searching for his son Michael, who stormed out of...
- 6/17/2020
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
There are few more enjoyable actors to watch than Bill Nighy. He always just seems to be having a good time, mellow and easy-going. It’s rare that a filmmaker gives him a starring role, but he has close to one here in Sometimes Always Never, a film that’s been on the festival circuit for almost two years. That might suggest a problematic flick, but that’s not the case. Though the movie ultimately falls just shy of being recommendation worthy for me, it’s still a pleasant yet melancholic dramedy, with Nighy at the center. He’s not let loose like he usually is when at his best, like in Richard Curtis penned roles, but this is one of his fuller performances to date. The film is a dramedy, centered on Alan (Nighy), a tailor and expert Scrabble player. For years, Alan has been searching for his missing eldest son Michael,...
- 6/13/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Hardscrabble grief hides behind high-scoring words on the Scrabble board in “Sometimes Always Never,” English director Carl Hunter’s scattered-brained but ultimately affecting hodgepodge of a first feature. As if they’re random letter tiles from a full bag, some ideas create meaning while others crowd the hand without much use.
Bill Nighy dons the deadpan charm of wordsmith Alan, a man unable to engage with the likelihood that his son Michael, gone missing long ago, may never turn up. “Hope is a great friend,” he tells his other adult child, Peter (Sam Riley), during a trip toward possible closure. Nuanced emotions escape his vocabulary, and in his quest for the prodigal son, he’s alienated the son who remains, the solid constant he takes for granted.
Known for heartfelt dramas that include Danny Boyle’s “Millions” and Simon Curtis’ “Goodbye Christopher Robin,” screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce creates characters charged with latent resentment,...
Bill Nighy dons the deadpan charm of wordsmith Alan, a man unable to engage with the likelihood that his son Michael, gone missing long ago, may never turn up. “Hope is a great friend,” he tells his other adult child, Peter (Sam Riley), during a trip toward possible closure. Nuanced emotions escape his vocabulary, and in his quest for the prodigal son, he’s alienated the son who remains, the solid constant he takes for granted.
Known for heartfelt dramas that include Danny Boyle’s “Millions” and Simon Curtis’ “Goodbye Christopher Robin,” screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce creates characters charged with latent resentment,...
- 6/10/2020
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Stars: Bill Nighy, Sam Riley, ALice Lowe, Jenny Agutter, Tim McInnerny, John Westley, Ella-Grace Gregoire, Louis Healy, Alexei Sayle | Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce | Directed by Carl Hunter
Sometimes Always Never stars Bill Nighy as Alan, a Scrabble aficionado, who has spent the last few decades of his life along with his son Peter (Sam Riley) searching for his missing child. Alan and Peter begrudgingly meet and travel to a morgue to identify a body that may, or may not, be the long-lost son and brothers they have been looking to find. What commences is a beautifully poignant family drama that touches on the delicate balancing of love and loss.
Bill Nighy and Sam Riley are terrific as father and son. The chemistry both actors bring to their respective characters is phenomenal. Nighy’s arc is beautifully orchestrated on paper and even better brought to life with an outlandish stoic nature.
Sometimes Always Never stars Bill Nighy as Alan, a Scrabble aficionado, who has spent the last few decades of his life along with his son Peter (Sam Riley) searching for his missing child. Alan and Peter begrudgingly meet and travel to a morgue to identify a body that may, or may not, be the long-lost son and brothers they have been looking to find. What commences is a beautifully poignant family drama that touches on the delicate balancing of love and loss.
Bill Nighy and Sam Riley are terrific as father and son. The chemistry both actors bring to their respective characters is phenomenal. Nighy’s arc is beautifully orchestrated on paper and even better brought to life with an outlandish stoic nature.
- 8/27/2019
- by Jak-Luke Sharp
- Nerdly
Few plays work well in a cinematic environment. Singular locations grow restrictive, waves of dialogue sound superfluous, and sometimes the acting (suited for the stage) is too over-the-top to take seriously. Based on the 1996 stage-play by N.J. Crisp, That Good Night ticks these off like a to-do list.
In his last performance before his death in January last year, John Hurt plays Ralph – an agèd screenwriter living opulently in Portugal with his younger wife Anna (Sofia Helin). After receiving news of a terminal illness, Ralph tries to secretly make amends with his son Michael (Max Brown) by inviting him over. But this becomes difficult, as Ralph can never find the right opportunity to tell him.
Following the curse of most theatre-to-film adaptations, That Good Night doesn’t seem to desire a filmic presence. It mostly consists of monotonously stunted shots of actors acting, as if director Eric Styles and cinematographer...
In his last performance before his death in January last year, John Hurt plays Ralph – an agèd screenwriter living opulently in Portugal with his younger wife Anna (Sofia Helin). After receiving news of a terminal illness, Ralph tries to secretly make amends with his son Michael (Max Brown) by inviting him over. But this becomes difficult, as Ralph can never find the right opportunity to tell him.
Following the curse of most theatre-to-film adaptations, That Good Night doesn’t seem to desire a filmic presence. It mostly consists of monotonously stunted shots of actors acting, as if director Eric Styles and cinematographer...
- 3/29/2018
- by Euan Franklin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Stars: Dyfan Dwyfor, Annes Elwy, Mark Lewis Jones | Written by Ed Talfan | Directed by Gareth Bryn
When it comes to ghost stories, I’m not the biggest fan. Even though I often get irrational fears such as someone grabbing my foot as I walk up the stairs or seeing a distorted reflection in the mirror when you I go for a pee in the middle of the night, I really don’t believe in ghosts or outside forces. When it comes to films about ghosts, I’m even less of a fan. How many times do I have to suffer cheap orchestra stabs when the ghost pops up in front of the camera? You know the score and you’re probably tired of it too. Thankfully, with The Passing (original title: Yr Ymadawiad), Gareth Bryn and a selection of those involved with the critically acclaimed police detective drama series Hinterland...
When it comes to ghost stories, I’m not the biggest fan. Even though I often get irrational fears such as someone grabbing my foot as I walk up the stairs or seeing a distorted reflection in the mirror when you I go for a pee in the middle of the night, I really don’t believe in ghosts or outside forces. When it comes to films about ghosts, I’m even less of a fan. How many times do I have to suffer cheap orchestra stabs when the ghost pops up in front of the camera? You know the score and you’re probably tired of it too. Thankfully, with The Passing (original title: Yr Ymadawiad), Gareth Bryn and a selection of those involved with the critically acclaimed police detective drama series Hinterland...
- 4/24/2016
- by Mondo Squallido
- Nerdly
Screen Star of Tomorrow awarded at British Academy Cymru Awards.
Screen International 2014 Star of Tomorrow Keri Collins won the Breakthrough Award for his film Convenience at the 23rd British Academy Cymru Awards held on Oct 26.
Convenience, a crime comedy starring BAFTA award-winner Vicky McClure (This is England), was also a Raindance 2013 official selection. The film follows two best friends as they attempt to rob a petrol station to clear a debt owned to Russian strip club owners.
In all, 28 programme, craft and performance categories were awarded at this year’s ceremony, honouring excellence in broadcasting and production within Film and Television in Wales between April 2013 and March 2014.
The list of winners:
Factual Series - The Call Centre
Director Factual - Gwirionedd y Galon -Dylan Wyn Richards
Single Documentary - O’r Galon - Yr Hardys: Un Dydd ar y Tro
Editing - 35 Diwrnod - Dafydd Hunt
Photography & Lighting - Y Gwyll / Hinterland -Richard Stoddard
Photography Factual...
Screen International 2014 Star of Tomorrow Keri Collins won the Breakthrough Award for his film Convenience at the 23rd British Academy Cymru Awards held on Oct 26.
Convenience, a crime comedy starring BAFTA award-winner Vicky McClure (This is England), was also a Raindance 2013 official selection. The film follows two best friends as they attempt to rob a petrol station to clear a debt owned to Russian strip club owners.
In all, 28 programme, craft and performance categories were awarded at this year’s ceremony, honouring excellence in broadcasting and production within Film and Television in Wales between April 2013 and March 2014.
The list of winners:
Factual Series - The Call Centre
Director Factual - Gwirionedd y Galon -Dylan Wyn Richards
Single Documentary - O’r Galon - Yr Hardys: Un Dydd ar y Tro
Editing - 35 Diwrnod - Dafydd Hunt
Photography & Lighting - Y Gwyll / Hinterland -Richard Stoddard
Photography Factual...
- 10/31/2014
- ScreenDaily
“Tracking Shot” is a monthly featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at a dozen or so projects that are moments away from lensing (or in a couple of titles below have been shooting since July). This August we’ve got a good number of projects that will start surfacing as early as next year’s Sundance, Rotterdam and Berlin Film Fests. With Dakota Johnson having been just announced, we’ve got Luca Guadagnino’s long awaited (remake) A Bigger Splash, getting ready for a poolside shoot. Gus Van Sant comes out of the woodworks to move into the woods for Sea of Trees. Sundance alumni Rick Alverson is wrapping up Entertainment, Reed Morano is set to make her directorial debut this mid-August with Meadowland, while Douchebag, Like Crazy, Breathe In‘s Drake Doremus is stationed in Japan for a weighty cast and futuristic tale in Equals. Here are some...
- 8/6/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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