A One Mann’s Movies review of “Save The Cinema” (2022).
This new Sky Movies offering, “Save the Cinema”, is short on finesse but strong on Welsh charm. It’s also based on a true story that I only fully dredged from the deep recesses of my brain as the film was running.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
It’s South-West Wales in 1993. An evil property developer (Colm Meaney) is in league with the corrupt town mayor (Adeel Akhtar), They want to tear down the Lyric Theatre in the Welsh town of Carmarthen and erect a new shopping centre. Liz Evans (Samantha Morton), who runs the local youth theatre, is appalled with the concept and takes action to prevent the bulldozers from moving in.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Samantha Morton, Jonathan Pryce, Owain Yeoman, Adeel Akhtar, Tom Felton.
Directed by: Sara Sugarman.
Written by: Piers Ashworth. (Based on the novel by Lorraine King).
“Save The Cinema” Review:
Positives:
- Notwithstanding my reservations about this one (as below), this was a heart-warming tale of Welsh grit and determination. It really has a lot in common with last year’s “Dream Horse” in this regard. It’s also (bizarrely) based on a true story.
- Note: I have deliberately NOT described the “bizarre” aspect of the story here, since I hadn’t had that spoiled and it made the film far better for me. Although the facts hovered on the edge of my memory, I only progressively recalled them as the film went on!
- Aside from the leads, a wide array of Welsh acting talent is given the chance to perform including comedian Rhod Gilbert, Owain Yeoman, Owen Teale and the very attractive Erin Richards, as the mayor’s assistant and love interest Susan. It also pins its Britishness to its sleeve (probably making it a tough sell outside the UK) by featuring Wynne Evans, the “Go Compare” man. It emerges that he has a genuinely interesting link to the film.
- It’s also great to see Tom Felton on the big screen and NOT playing a villain for once! After roles as Draco Malfoy and the zookeeper in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (a brilliant and under-rated performance in my book) I thought he might end up as the dodgy property developer. But no!
Negatives:
- While the Welshness of the illustrious Mrs Movie Man vaccinated her against any ills associated with this movie, I was quietly grinding my teeth at some of the dialogue. I thought the script was really pretty ropey:
- The film clunks along with many lines that you really wouldn’t imagine anyone saying in reality. At times Liz muses to herself out-loud as a device to move the plot along, when a “show-don’t-tell” approach would have been perfectly sufficient.
- There’s a conflict injected between Liz and her husband David that seems false and purely added for dramatic effect.
- At times the film overly signposts where its heading, killing any sort of suspense in the story (a ‘goodnight’ scene with Jonathan Pryce being a prime example).
Summary Thoughts on “Save The Cinema”
This movie was clunking along, in my opinion, at around the 2.5 stars level for most of its running time. As Douglas Adams would have put it, it was “mostly harmless”. Its ace-in-the-hole was the bizarre historical event that comprises the finale of the movie: an event that caused something irritating to get in my eye and an unexplained lump develop in my throat. For this reason alone, I added on the extra half star.
“Save the Cinema” is available on Sky / NowTV Cinema (at least, it is in the UK).
Trailer for “Save the Cinema”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG9Qfab6Z2s . Note that the trailer DOES spoil the plot point mentioned above, so I would suggest NOT watching this trailer.
