Review of Cemetery Junction (2010) by Nick X — 14 Oct 2010

This film disappointed a lot of Gervais/Merchant fans expecting "The Office - The Movie", but I think it succeeds on its own terms. Set in the '70s, but in a place that appears virtually untouched by the social revolutions of the '60s, Cemetary Junction is the story of Freddie Taylor, a young man torn between the Scylla of his friends' desire to remain in perpetual adolescence and the Charybdis of a model of maturity, represented by the insurance company he works for, that leads to a soul-sucking ossification. The reviewers who said that Cemetary Junction (the town) looks so pretty, you wonder why anyone would want to escape it are missing the point. It's a prison not because of an oppressive built environment, but because of the closed-mindedness of its people.

There are great performances all round, especially from Emily Watson as Freddie's boss's wife (and mother of his love interest), who doesn't have much dialogue, but who can say so much with a look that she barely needs it. It's more of a drama with humour than an out-and-out comedy, but then The Office and Extras weren't always a laugh a minute either. If you go into it with those expectations, you should enjoy it.