Married Baby
Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
slatromhsiloof
No budget turd, unbelievable performances. Only thing good about this film is you can see how bad it is in the first two minutes so you can shut the thing off and stick it in the microwave on high before you die of boredom. Compare this film to a grade school play that your kid isn't in, so you don't have to watch it. The makers of this film ought to be embarrassed. They probably would have made more money by dancing in front of the bus station holding paper cups and calling for spare change. It sure would have been more entertaining to watch. Here is a tip for the makers: Next time you have an idea for a film, watch television instead, preferably reruns of "I Love Lucy". No reason we should be the only ones suffering. Avoid this refuse.
Colin Warhurst
To say Diary Of A Bad Lad is a "must see" movie is no mere hyperbole. There are already many discussions and observations regarding the film's low budget, independent nature (and indeed the style of the film and subsequent "acting" are the film's greatest strength) and it precisely because this film has not gone through a long, overdrawn and commercialised process by distributors keen to boil the plot, characters and story down to the lowest common (easiest to sell) denominator that we have a film so refreshingly different to anything on offer in our multiplexes or store shelves. Diary Of A Bad Lad is a film that may would not have dared try to make, or if they had, would have ran the risk of dropping the ball with too many Chefs spoiling the pot. The Production team were all reading from the same Hymn sheet on day one and it shows with such a tight, yet intricate, narrative.The plot revolves around disgraced former University lecturer Barry Lick, who enrols his former students and protégés, or rather seduces them, into making a Documentary about various gangster figures in the local area. What happens over the course of the film is that the film crew, who become thoroughly unlikeable pretty quickly (deliberately so) are actually being manipulated by their so called film subjects, Gangtsers Ray Topham and Tommy Morghen.The film's genius lies in making you, the viewer, implicit in Barry Lick's Production crew and quest to infiltrate the murky belly of the Underworld, camera always in tow. As he and his cohorts are drawn further into the dark-side of Ray and Tommy's actual goings on, eventually becoming directly implicated and involved in criminal activities, we become just as guilty as they do. They want more gory details in their film; we want to see more gory details in the/their film. Barry Lick's most memorable line "It's what the punters want to see!" isn't a statement, but a question to the viewer, one that we answer with a silent but assertive yes. Yes, show us more violence, pornography, drugs. Whatever you've got, we'll lap it up and watch.As such, we are drawn into and complicit in every single unflinching and brutal act the film wheels out to us. This is not a gangster flick of bravado, shouting and swearing. The observational style of the piece means that all the characters become chillingly real, which makes the ever so easy flick between Business-Gentleman and Cold-Killer all the more shocking. As such, Joe O'Byrne deserves immense amount of praise; his turn as Tommy Morghen is not just one of the greatest gangster performances I've seen, but one of the greatest all time movie villains. Not for Tommy is the bravado and machismo of Scarface or a Guy Ritchie archetype, but rather a calm and gentle smile with a handshake and a glint in his eye that tells you have just invited the Devil inside.As media commentary, performance piece and an incredibly well put together film, Diary Of A Bad Lad is epic in its scope; part movie, part satirical social critique. The latter makes it rise above being just another movie, but it is the former, that all of these threads, characters and criticisms can be woven into such a well crafted story, that makes Diary Of A Bad Lad an out-standing film and proof that film-stock, glossy actors and glamorous locations are not essential pre-requisites for a good film; they're not, it is about story-telling, and anyone can do that with the tools they have available. You won't see another film like Bad Lad anytime soon, and for that reason alone, the film is a "must see." The fact that the film is British, and gaining a release in Britain in cinemas, online and at retailers (any non-British reading this may not realise that this is monumentally difficult if not impossible to do in our own country) shows not just the determination of the film crew and Production to get this film scene, but that also it must have something to say and be doing something right as people are paying attention, and actively promoting the film. After seeing the film, Tommy Morghen's bone chilling smile doesn't give you any other option.
leon florentine
After seeing this film twice now, what becomes apparent upon the second viewing is the northern humour. well timed comic performances from Paul Bertwistle in particular are what give the audience respite from the dark, sinister and intense drama that unfolds upon the screen.To think that this film was made with such a low budget and in the spare time of the film makers is a credit to them and shows the commitment of everyone involved. 'Diary Of A Bad Lad' is certain to be a success amongst audiences everywhere and why the film has not been released yet defies logic. I challenge anyone to see the film and not have strong feelings towards it.
hair2
"He'll make you laugh, he'll make you think," sang Professor Fink in an episode of The Simpsons, and he could well have been talking about one of the folks behind Diary of a Bad Lad. The genius of this staggeringly-realistic faux documentary is that its black humour makes you laugh even as another part of you is thinking, "Oh my god - what these people are doing is horrific." It entertains hugely for an hour and a half, but leaves you with many unsettling thoughts on both the horrors of the crimes committed by the "Bad Lad" Tommy and the exploitative nature of the media and the ethics of journalists. These themes have never been more relevant than in these days of 24-hour news coverage when no-one thinks twice about broadcasting images of bleeding victims of terrorist attacks staggering into ambulances.I'm generally a fan of Hollywood-style movies with happy endings, slick camera-work, fun characters and traditional "good guys", so for a film that deliberately eschews all of these things to appeal to me is no mean feat - that it did is a testament to the quality of the writing, direction and performances. The illusion of the whole thing being a real documentary is damn-near perfect, with every scene written and performed in an utterly naturalistic fashion. This film desperately deserves a release.
