Review of Burke & Hare (2010) by Victoria R — 09 Nov 2010

Ever noticed that Andy Serkis looks a bit like a male version of Marcia from Spaced? I have. Now you will, too, every time you see him, and it'll bug the shit out of you.

Burke and Hare is set in nineteenth century Scotland and combines the bizarre true story of its titular heroes - a pair of graverobbers who turn to murder in order to speed up business - with a playful disregard for factual/historical accuracy. Tonally it's quite at odds with witself; though the cutesiness of its romantic subplot is undoubtedly a deliberate joke in itself, it still conflicts with the black humour that should, by rights, be at centre-stage.

The cast is perhaps distracting in that it's something of a who's who of British comedy - Simon Pegg plays Mr Burke (the aforementioned Julia Serkis plays Mr Hare), Jessica Hynes is in there (and I've never seen a women look so beautiful in a bonnet), then there's Ronnie Corbett, Reece Shearsmith and even a beardless Bill Bailey (every bit as unsettling as you'd expect).

It's the sign of a fairly good film that it could have I Would Walk Five Hundred Miles by The Proclaimers over the credits, and yet I'd still be smiling, even as I quickly escaped the theatre. But it's also a fair indicator of what's wrong with the film - there's a tendency towards irritating, self-aware whimsy where there should be grim humour and horror. Regardless, I had a good time with Burke and Hare, and provided you leave right before the end credits start, I think you will too.