Very Annie Mary (2001)

Better Late Then Never

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Annie Mary has a decidedly fraught relationship with her widowed father who puts her down at every opportunity and never ceases to remind her how inferior she is to her mother who died when Annie Mary was 15 and on the brink of a career in opera.At that time the poor girl put aside her chance of fame and fortune to concentrate on helping her father run his bakery business in a small Welsh village.Bullied,downtrodden,with little sense of self - worth,she seems destined for a life of perpetual misery until her father is struck down by a stroke.................... "Very Annie Mary" sounds like a movie that could have sunk in its own morass of self - pity but in fact it celebrates all the small (and not so small) victories that make human life so memorably uncertain,unpredictable and gloriously serendipitous for most of us. The people are not the mealy -mouthed BBC Mafia Welsh but the wonderfully verbose vibrant types celebrated by Dylan Thomas,people from whose mouths the words come tumbling out unchecked,they celebrate life rather than endure it,exactly the opposite to the characters in so many British turn - of - the - century comedy/dramas that are far better known. Briliiantly played by a cast that looks and sounds exactly right,"Very Annie Mary" is a movie that will both concern and enchant you. It's about living,sweating,swearing,loving,hating,lying and truthing human beings,infuriating,depressing and funny - just like you and me. This is what life is really like - increase your appetite for it by watching this uplifting movie.

I have seen this before, and it has been calling me to watch it again. I sat down today and floated through it - maybe you miss bits the first time - I know I enjoyed it today more than ever. I grew up with Welsh family, visits to the valleys, and loved them. This does not disrespect any of that, but gently take the Mick as you do with loved family members. It's a funny film and a touching film and in parts when she's being really stupid or trying to impress, cringe-making, but then it all comes right at the end. Quirky, oddball and unusual of course those words spring to mind, but the singing is sublime (dubbed?) and the Welsh scenery is of course beautiful. The cast are amazing and the conversation is natural - people behaving as they do. thanks for a very enjoyable couple of hours!

Just watched this film on Sundance channel, because I saw Rachel Griffith was listed as an actor. I'm a great admirer of Rachel Griffith, starting with Hilary and Jackie, then the TV series, Six Feet Under. Rachel Griffith's work in this film, frankly, blew me away! (and of course, the exquisite "Muriel's Wedding.") She is a magnificent actor, totally into the role of Annie Mary. It took me about 20 minutes to convince myself that "Annie Mary" was indeed Rachel Griffith, she was that into the character. It's hard to believe this film is now over 5 years old. It's timeless! I did find the Welsh accent hard to understand, at points, but would be willing to see the film again to listen more carefully. Some of the plot intricacies escaped me, probably because I was watching a TV screen, not a large cinema presentation. I'm still in the dark about an important plot development in the closing part of the film, but that didn't affect the overall impact. Also, one loses a lot on a TV presentation because the credits are largely unreadable.

Very Annie Mary is a film that focuses on the character of the same name that lives in a small welsh village. She is the archetypal "a bit slow" character with her father (an excellent turn from Johnathan Pryce) being the village big shot, a popular baker and the most celebrated tenor in Wales. Annie Mary's friend is dying and the whole village is taking part in charitable events to get her to Disneyland. If you like the sound of this already, then this film should appeal to you. There's a fine amount of comedy and tragedy as this character struggles to cope with the obstacles thrown her way and get what she wants. Personally, I found it lacking something that I'd got from other similar films and I found the main character just a little too far to handle. However the film got a couple of genuine laughs out of me and was worth watching for Jonathan Pryce's performance alone.