Doug Macleod (David Tennant) and his wife Abi (Rosamund Pike) are taking a road trip with their three children Lottie (Emilia Jones), Mickey (Bobby Smalldridge) and Jess (Harriet Turnbull) to the Scottish Highlands to celebrate Doug's father Gordie's (Billy Connolly) 75th birthday.
Gordie has late-stage cancer, and the family don't think he'll make it to his next birthday, so Doug's brother Gavin (Ben Miller) and his wife Margaret (Amelia Bullmore) are throwing him an enormous party, inviting well over two hundred people to celebrate with them.
The only trouble is, Gordie doesn't know that Doug and Abi are separated, and they would like to keep it that way. But keeping their children quiet about their situation is going to be far easier said than done.
On the day of his birthday party, Gordie takes the three children to his favourite beach where he used to go with his brother (who was killed in World War Two as a young man). While there, he passes away peacefully, and the children - unable to get the adults' attention, as everyone is too busy arguing - decide amongst themselves to give him the send-off he would have wanted.
I won't say any more about that, it will be far more enjoyable for you to discover it for yourself, but let's just say that it is unexpected, as anyone who has seen Outnumbered would suspect.
The writers, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who also directed the film, have written an amazing script, full of unique and hilarious comedy, but also littered with plenty of pathos. I suspect that they encouraged improvisation with their cast, as they did with Outnumbered, allowing the three children in particular to take scenes in directions that the adults perhaps did not expect. This means that the character's reactions are much more realistic, and the dialogue at no point feels stilted or unnatural.
One of the most beautiful things about this film is Martin Hawkins's cinematography. The shots of the scenery show an incredible expanse of landscape, and the lens just soaks up all that beautiful Scottish scenery. Otherwise, the camera shots are fairly standard, with nothing too outlandish or experimental in nature. Light and dark are contrasted and balanced well, making the film a joy to watch from a visual perspective as well as from a comedic perspective.
The music, by Alex Heffes, is very well composed, and used sparingly but beautifully. The score has a particularly British feel to it, as though one is listening to a piece by Handel or Elgar, with predominantly orchestral instruments used. From time to time, the music has more of a folk feel to it, but this is generally the exception rather than the rule.
All things considered, this is a very enjoyable film. It may not be the best film ever made, or even the best British film ever made, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable way to spend ninety minutes. If you haven't seen it, check it out, and be prepared to laugh until your sides hurt.
8 out of 10.
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