Awaydays (2009)

Excellent adaptation.

A Major Disappointment

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is has got to be one of the most bizarre movies I've seen in a very long time . It has the gloomy , gritty , realist kitchen sink drama you've seen a million times from every Ken Loach film . Somewhat conscious of this Pat Holden then introduces a contemporary soundtrack tothe film , a soundtrack that seems to go on and on . According to the wikipedia a grand total of 28 tracks are used throughout the running time . You can't get enough of doom laden nihilistic songs , tunes to slash your wrists to ? Then you'll probably enjoy AWAYDAYS . Oh and you're also a latent homosexual who can't catch enough homo erotic glances from male characters in a movie ? In that case you might just believe this is a gay , kitchen sink , pop video equivalent of GONE WITH THE WIND These aren't necessarily criticisms and AWAYDAYS would go down very well with film students wanting to discuss kitchen sink British drama or gay cinema or wider existentialist themes . Certainly the look and feel of the movie resembles that of many classic PLAY FOR TODAY dramas but the problem is there seems to be three different type of films trying to escape Certainly the best aspect of the film is its sense of time and place . Unlike Nick Love's remake of THE FIRM you really do believe the story is taking place in its chronological setting , so much so that Holden gives the impression that he owns a Tardis . The hairstyles and fashion and whole feel of the movie screams that it's 1979 Merseyside . However this is the only thing Holden manages to capture well and convey to the audience It's interesting how extreme some of the reviews on this page are and after watching AWAYDAYS you'll take on board both the praise and criticism . Both sides are right in their arguments and I'm sticking by my one line summary at the top of this review

As someone who was born in Birkenhead and lived in Wirral for over 30 years, the first thing that struck me was the awful accents. Even I struggled to understand! Hardly surprising that most of the cast is from Manchester. It's difficult too to pin a time on the film, 70s buses and trains then a modern Renault Clio and some recent Merseyrail trains. All of which just make me think 'must try harder'A group of young kids embark on several fights against men 3 of 4 times their age, come out unmarked. Little to make you feel for any characters, a death that comes out of the blue with no real reason.....all in all, not great. My reason for watching....spotting the local landmarks and a decent soundtrack. Perhaps I should have read the book instead.

Another year, another film about football, and the cult that is hooliganism.This time, they have Stephen Graham in a del-boy jacket and cool moustache and a quite good soundtrack to try and sell the film. It all fails miserably.It's the everyday story of a young lad who is bored with life, is at a football match and sees some violence and wants in, and starts to ignore his family in favour of the football (or rather the fighting).it's your typically clichéd movie. and the one that stands out the most is the fact that the one who lets him into the group 'Elvis', is rejected by Carty halfway through.In the films favour though, it's realistically filmed, Bell is very good in his role,and Stephen Graham may as well change his name to Robert Carlyle, as now he will always be remembered for his role in 'this is england' as Carlyle is for Trainspotting.the story doesn't really go anywhere, we just see Carty sink deeper an deeper into the abyss, all the while not realising that Elvis is blatantly in love with him.there really hasn't been a good 'Firm' movie since Clarks TV drama 'the firm', and this is just another nail in the football movie coffin.give me when Saturday comes any-day

I'm sure this film isn't everyone's cup o' tea, I went in not expecting much, just hoping the soundtrack would live up to the hype. But I've got to say it is an amazingly good passage-of-rites drama. Vicious and Beautiful, it defies genre and is totally refreshing.Nicky Bell and Liam Boyle are two real discoveries, Boyle's Elvis character is pitch perfect, a complex and compelling performance that will make him a star, whilst Bell broods convincingly throughout.It has the best soundtrack ever. No messing around! Makes me wish I was around for that 1979 post punk period.Awaydays has a purposely ( I assume ) lo-fi look which really helps convey the grim post-thatcher Merseyside setting. All the clothes and general design looks spot on ( and often eerily contemporary ) Best film of the year by far.I pray that Elvis didn't die and ends up in Berlin so there's a sequel.