> Faintheart
Directeor: Vito Rocco
Cast: Eddie Marsan, Ewen Bremner, Tim Healy, Paul Nichols, Bronagh Gallagher, Anne Reid, Joseph Hamilton
Rating: (M) Eddie Marsan in Faintheart.
2 stars (out of 5)
Review By Mark Orton
The story behind Faintheart is infinitely more interesting than the film itself.
Trumpeted as the first MySpace film, the idea behind the creative process was to harness talent within the online community, thereby incorporating social networking in the film-making process.
With that in mind, you can be excused for thinking that the resulting narrative might be a little edgy, if not awkward.
Far from it, Faintheart is so embarrassingly straightforward that just staying awake during the screening is a real chore.
You can't help but feel a tad sympathetic for Eddie Marsan (Richard).
Here is a talented actor trapped in such a poorly hatched character that no level of chutzpah can possibly override the barrage of blatantly signposted clichés.
And, the worst thing is, the premise is not all that bad.
Setting an off-beat romantic drama within a Norse re-enactment society has all the hallmarks of screen gold, if it wasn't so predictable.
The mere fact that these societies are incredibly popular with the anorak set suggests that with a little Napoleon Dynamite treatment, and some guidance from fans of Little Britain, Faintheart could have had a future beyond in-flight entertainment.
One can only assume that no matter how many script suggestions were posted on the film MySpace page, scriptwriter David lemon still held sway over this paint-by-numbers Britcom.
Best thing: The association between Richard's vehicle (a Volvo Estate) and hearing '80s English heavy metal band Saxon in the soundtrack.
Worst thing: The complete lack of plot complexity.
See it with: Nothing very challenging or entertaining in mind.
