Exclusive : One Day Removals
In a first for our humble blog I have been given the privilege of reviewing a movie that has not been released anywhere yet. This is Aberdeen director Mark Stirton’s follow up to his brilliantly inventive Sci-Fi/Horror from 2006, The Planet. If you have watched the planet the actors will be very familiar with Patrick Wight as Andy the owner of an Aberdeen Removal company Andy removals who is assisted by Ronnie (Scott Ironside).
The film starts with Andy and Ronnie on their way to do a simple job for the day but things start going wrong when they accidentally run some-one over as their journey across Aberdeenshire continues they keep knocking off more and more innocents in freakish and hilarious circumstances. So a movie like this is dependant on the 2 leads and boy do they put on a show. Scott and Patrick have an amazing chemistry and the insults and arguments flow so naturally between them it is a joy to watch.
Now some people may point to the fact that being in Doric most people won’t follow it but on the contrary the doric adds to it and in any other dialect some the arguments would not sound anywhere near as funny as they do. This movie is a joy to watch and there are so many scenes that stand out if i was to describe them to you I would end up just writing out the whole script.
The direction is once again superb and they have made a stunning job of filming Aberdeen and the surrounding area it is refreshing to see that not all Scottish cities in movies are not slums with junkies and alcoholics living in poverty.
This is not just a good low budget Scottish movie, or a good Scottish movie it is an Excellent movie . It ranks for me as one of the funniest things I have ever watched in my life you will be laughing so loud all the through this film that you may need a defib if it gets too much for you. As Scottish movies goes this sets new , dizzying heights for the film industry here showing what can be done with hard work. Mark and Company we salute you !
Verdict 10/10
Brilliant, just brilliant. A riotous, hilarious comedy that deserves every success coming its way.
5 Comments:
mark stirton said…
Many thanks for the review. The first official review anywhere on the web by the way.
Cheers min,
MS
29 June 2008 00:04
Zulu Cal said…
And thanks for letting us review it, there shuld be another 2 reviews coming up on the site from Marty and Kev. Also check out the podcast i think about halfway hrugh it we discuss One Day Removals as well as a few words on The Planet. We are really looking forward to having you guys on the podcast at some point.
29 June 2008 02:28
Mcflee said…
This film proves that not only can someone with a great idea and a little drive can do…. but also that the doric accent can be put to film and indeed enhance it.
I can’t urge people enough to go out there and watch this once it’s released… An instant classic min!!!
29 June 2008 17:05
Kev said…
I’m going to court controversy here and tell you why I didn’t like One Day Removals.
The film is obviously a more personal story from Stirton, taking in the sights and sounds of his native Aberdeen; Even incorporating his home dialect of Doric (A broad Scots).
It follows two hapless delivery men, Andy and Ronnie, on a job. When they turn up to collect their delivery in the middle of the countryside, they find no-one’s home. They decide to drive back to civilisation, so they can get a signal on their phone, but instead, depart on a spree of accidental killings.
The film is spliced with cut-scenes of Andy (Peter Wight) struggling to convince the police of his innocence, culminating later in the pair’s court case.
So, what’s wrong with it then?
There’s no initial hook to grip the viewer to the story. The only thing we have is Andy’s overlong narration and some lovely, yet unrelated, views of Aberdeen harbour. If maybe, we had a shot of the pair being carted off to prison and some of the tabloid headlines from the end sequence, we could invest some interest in how they ended up there.
There’s also no heightened tension through the film. It’s just one silly accidental death after another. Funny at first, but boring after a while.
The camerawork isn’t a patch on the vastly Superior ‘Planet’. It plays out like an overlong episode of River City.
The special effects amount to plenty of Tomato Sauce and the odd prosthetic. Not what you’d expect from the guy who gave us CGI Demons and Ghosts.
If The Planet showed audiences what Stirton could do with 8 grand, then One Day Removals shows us what he can do with a pocket full of change.
One thing that does count in its favour is the acting, Especially Scott Ironside as Ronnie. If we associate with any character, it’s him. The poor guy has dreams of breaking free from his removal job and being a rock star, but fate steers him away. Ironside is superbly convincing as the man watching his dream fall through his fingers.
Verdict 4/10
Where The Planet oozed potential for greatness, this film comes across as an amateur having fun with his pals
21 July 2008 20:42
Zulu Cal said…
To expand upon my review and also to respond to some of kev’s points here. I cannot help but love this film and to me the ultimate test of any movie is repeat viewing and this stands up well for me.
In the 2 main characters we have 2 polar opposites Andy the steady, responsible family man and Ronny the free spirit yearning for something more and thus provides one the main thrusts for the movie, seeing how these 2 react to extra ordinary circumstances.
Now one point i will disagree heavily with here is that of camerwork and editing. As Mark balances the more subdued scenes with long pondering shots to when the action is in full flow with some tight snappy shots. The ‘last Stand’ at the farmers estate being one great example.
This is a problem with writing comedy. Dan O’ Bannon, creator of Alien gave up on comedy as he found that humour is very much an individual taste – we all laugh at different things where as in horror we all have the same things.
Where the planet amazed us becuase of what was achieved on a meagre budget using an archetypical story ‘removals’ will ultimatley come down to personal preference. The best way to look at it is ‘The Planet’ was Stirton’s fuck you i can do it feature this is Mark starting to experiment with his tools and perhaps the best thing about this experiment is that no matter who you are it will get a reaction.And as they say a reaction one way or the other is always better than none at all.
22 July 2008 00:21
The Planet oozed potential? Well it oozed something that’s for sure! I think the second review is confusing flash with quality. The Planet was a very heavily graded SD film. But it looked pretty terrible when projected. But ODR is HD and looks MUCH better, also we had lights on ODR!
Also, no way was The Planet ever going to get onto a festival like Raindance. But One Day Removals has been selected.
Hang on. I’ve just read it again, he wants me to give away the ending… at the start? Yeah, not gonna happen.
I still stand by my review. I think the real potential lies in Scott Ironside’s career. He’s an actor of star quality.
I disagree, Patrick White is clearly the superior actor in both films.
I liked both movies but I have to say the planet was amazing for the budget and a fun watch but also very run of the mill as far as script and story go.
One Day Removals was, to me, a breath of fresh air and truly funny. It was one of the few films that made me laugh out loud while I watched it on me tod… but maybe I am biased toward it as it is from my home region. I dunno if it was the doric that put you off Kev but the only real points I see you faulting it on are all faults that exist in The Planet… and to a greater degree even.
All the same everyone here on fightrunner is entitled to their opinion… so stand firm Kev… even if you are wrong! hahaha.
I give it 9/10
McFlee
Kev,
Your right! Scott was brilliant, but I’m better looking!
Up the Dons,
Patrick
He’s a Gers man Pat, but fear not myself and McFlee are true Dons men.
Zulu
Ah, that explains it! Doubt if ODR will be shown in Govan!
Velcro gloves all round then lads?