By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.6
Director: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Alice Lowe | Eileen Davies | Kenneth Hadley | Richard Lumsden | Steve Oram
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2013
Running time: 88
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2023690/combined
Jason says: “Ben Wheatley’s previous two films weren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and he hasn’t exactly gone conventional with SIGHTSEERS. It’s quite often as funny as it is twisted (or, perhaps, vice versa), overflowing with strange, messy, disturbing romantic comedy.
“Tina (Alice Lowe) and Chris (Steve Oram) are going on holiday after being together for a few months, despite the protestations of Tina’s mother Carol (Eileen Davis). Odd, considering the pair are in their mid-thirties, but it comes as no surprise that neither has dated much; they’ve got that way about them. As much as Tina’s the one who has seldom left her mother’s side, Chris’s outsized reaction to someone at the tram museum littering is the first hint that their caravan trip through minor tourist sites in the English countryside is going to be far out of the ordinary.
“(Note for my fellow Americans: ‘caravan’ is British for ‘camper’ or ‘trailer.’)
“The term ‘dark comedy’ covers a lot of ground, and SIGHTSEERS manages to walk most of it. It’s one thing for the audience to laugh at something that is objectively horrible because the joke has been set up so well, and the movie does that often and well (often setting it up as the opposite of a joke). That’s impressive, but perhaps the niftier trick is how Wheatley and co-writer/co-stars Lowe & Oram twist things so that the audience winds up seeing the road-trip/romantic comedy movie from a decidedly skewed perspective. The weird focus is funny, but not in a snarky, laugh-at-the-form sort of way. The filmmakers are very careful
not to drift into parody or cool amorality.
“After all, the parts Oram & Lowe have written for themselves aren’t really cool at all. They’re self-conscious, not used to being respected, and apt to say ill-considered things to keep silence from going on too long. Both the script and the performances do a fine job of working this vibe; Chris and Tina both start off as people that one might make a little effort to overlook. There’s a nice push-and-pull between them as well; Tina’s mousiness draws Chris out, for good or ill, and her eagerness to be accepted is part and parcel of her becoming less timid, which upsets the balance of the relationship a bit. The two are an excellent pair, but don’t seem like too well oiled a machine.
“The plot is somewhat episodic, with other characters coming and going more or less in sequence. Elieen Davis’s Carol is one of the most memorable, with Davis diving into an overtly nasty character whose flaws are right out there in the open compared to the rest. Each encounter with new characters at new locations tends to yield at least one big laugh and a new undercurrent of tension, with the ebb and flow between them handled very well indeed, even when there’s bloody violence involved. One really fascinating thing about how the plot plays out is that learning more about the characters can make earlier scenes more interestingly ambiguous rather than making everything click into place.
“Wheatley will show us a bit of mayhem but not linger on it (blood can work best when used sparingly). There’s still plenty of edge to the story, the more traditional presentation actually makes it more effective at times: The picture is smooth, capturing the countryside’s appeal without romanticizing it, and even when inside the caravan, things seldom seem claustrophobic or limited the way they may have in Wheatley’s earlier movies.
“It’s still very much a strange little movie, but not defiantly so. It’s a rare dark, twisted comedy that often plays enough like something more familiar that the surprises are genuine, rather than just a different set of expectations. 4.5 cats
“Seen 4 December 2012 in Cineworld Fullham Road #6 (first-run, digital)”
Thom says: “”Director Wheatley has come a great distance in a very short time span, really an electric turn-of-foot. DOWN TERRACE (2009), his 1st feature length film, landed in my TOP 10 for the year and his follow-up KILL LIST (seen at TIFF 2011) claimed the #5 spot on my TOP 10 for last year. So it comes as no surprise that I indeed loved SIGHTSEERS, and Wheatley has even picked a bit of Mike Leigh here although his darkest of humor descends much further towards an unending Hell. New couple Chris & Tina set off on holiday much to the chagrin of Tina’s wickedly mean mother, Carol, in Chris’ large vacation caravan. The admonition that Carol gives to Chris, calling him an ‘evil’ man turns out to be more than prophetic as Chris is indeed a sociopath, killing anyone that crosses his path. Not so surprisingly then Tina transforms into every bit as much of a sociopath and God help those that get in their way. Somehow it becomes almost comic at times. Wheatley has now created his own little world of horrible people that makes for a demented world view. 5 cats”
Peter says: “I saw a highly entertaining and demented black comedy this weekend at the Kendall in Cambridge called THE SIGHTSEERS. Two people in love drive a trailer through the countryside of England touring and visiting local landmarks and museums. ‘One thing leads to another’ and they become two loving psycho serial killers along the way. The murders are hilarious, and the ending is laugh out loud. Hopefully it’s unique enough with a good following to be held over come Friday so I can take a few friends and see it again. 4.5 cats”
Chris says: “Young couple Chris (Steve Oram) and Tina (Alice Lowe) go on a camping holiday in the British countryside, only something is slightly off with Chris. Tina’s cranky mum Carol (Eileen Davies) senses it immediately when introduced to him in the opening scene, but susceptible, naïve Tina doesn’t get it until two people die along the way. A bit like Mike Leigh’s NUTS IN MAY, only with murderous sociopaths in the leads, SIGHTSEERS is violent and acidic enough to be recognizable as the work of director Ben Wheatly (DOWN TERRACE); it’s also hilarious and disarmingly upbeat—the most cheerful film about serial killers since perhaps EATING RAOUL. Lowe is perfection as a seemingly simplistic innocent whom Chris influences in all the wrong ways, while Oram plays Chris as a murderous, passive-aggressive charmer/loser worthy of Ricky Gervais. After oodles of silliness and some inspired absurdity (don’t miss Tina’s trip to the Pencil Museum), SIGHTSEERS ends on an ironic note that cunningly takes the piss out of every other serial killer film ever made. 4.5 cats”