Review of One Chance (2013) by Donald N — 06 Dec 2013

One Chance.

One for the grannies.

Of which there were many (a near sell-out, in fact) at the opening weekend screening I attended of One Chance, an amiable but tepid biopic of Paul Potts, the 1997 Britain's Got Talent winner.

Given that weather conditions were not conducive to the shedding of slippers and donning of duffle coats, and that countless distractions of the sporting, shopping, alehouse, televisual and familial variety were on offer, it was wonderful to see so many people of all generations crowded into the cinema. Upon entering the auditorium I was literally bedazzled by the glare of false teeth, bifocals and silver perms. Thankfully the rustling of sweetie wrappers was held in abeyance.

However it was also frustrating to see so many people queue up for a film which is, without being needlessly cruel, no better than average, especially since far superior films than this have limped along at the box office in recent months despite receiving unanimous critical acclaim. The market rules though. And to paraphrase Kevin Costner: "If you build it, and give it the Simon Cowell seal of approval (he is a producer), they will come.".

Which is a pity, because the fine cast and real-life subject of the film are let down by a pedestrian script which comprises of a series of self-contained montages, painted in broad brush strokes, which lack subtlety and soul: Port Talbot is grim, Venice is romantic, Work is mundane, Bullies are bad, Paul Potts' Life isn't a bowl of cherries and Instant Celebrity is the be all and end all.

The only time the film lifts from being bland to grand, and when the to-be-expected frog in the throat moments grip, is when Potts' actual singing voice filters out from his big, warm heart. But we could have experienced the same feelings by watching clips on You Tube or buying one of his multi-platinum albums.

The central question which lies at the heart of the film - why did he need/want/have to sing? - is never seriously explored. According to the producers the answer lies somewhere between he was skint and entered a talent competition to win some money, and, well, he was just kind of naturally good at it. But despite token references to bullying and wanting to escape the hardship of working class life in Port Talbot, the psychology of the man and the character chosen to represent him remains a mystery.

What also remains a mystery is why Justin Zackham (like so many other biopic writers) was so illiberal with the truth. In the film Potts is presented as a clumsy simpleton. In reality he has a BA (Hons) in Humanities and was one of the youngest ever members of Bristol City Council. But jings, crivens and help mah boab: why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

Towards the end of the film, when it enters full-on Britain's Got Talent mode, we see a replay of the judges' actual comments in response to Potts' initial performance on the show. Amanda Holden, that doyen of class and credibility, patronisingly concludes: "I think that we've got a case of a little lump of coal here that is going to turn into a diamond.".

In relation to One Chance: I that that we've got a case of a little lump of coal here that, despite trying so hard to be a diamond, is in the end still a little lump of coal.

One for the grannies, followers of Britain's Got Talent and fans of Paul Potts.

2/5.