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SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Cortechba Overrated

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The Couchpotatoes Still Life is not a movie to watch when you feel lonely or are a bit down because this movie oozes loneliness. There is not much happiness or joy, not in the characters nor in the job the main character has. Eddie Marsan did a good job playing the lonely meticulous civil servant, looking for relatives of deceased lonely people. He arranges the funerals of those ones that have nobody anymore in their lives, resulting in most cases in being the only one attending the funeral. The story is a bit monotone, but it fits the story well. Nothing wrong about the acting, you couldn't play loneliness better than this. The best part of the movie to me was the ending, very touching, and makes you think about how some people just have nobody in their lives.

Tony Connell This is one of the most impressive films I have seen. Not only in the last year but in the last 10 years. Eddie Marson brings a quiet resolve to a role he was born to play. A supporting cast that perfectly fits in with the pace and mood of the film. The premise is unpromising. A civil servant in a dead end job doing a job not appreciated by most. Seen as an anachronism in a modern world he does his job with pen and paper in a computer age. He shows more compassion to the dead than they received in real life. He documents and adds a small meaning to lives otherwise forgotten in a city full of people where people slip through the maelstrom of the frantic world and end up alone. At the end of the film I sat and stared at the blank screen thinking about what I had just seen. The last time I had felt as moved by a film was nearly 10 years ago. I certainly did not expect it to happen last night.

landy_mike It's difficult to find a film that touches many of the emotions that this one does. Billed as a comedy drama, I'm not sure that fits. There is drama and there is comedy, but not in any extreme way.The story is quaint. John May is a detective, but not in the usual sense: he is tasked by the local borough council to find relatives of deceased residents of the council. Eddie Marsden plays a dedicated, humble employee of the council who provides people with one last opportunity for dignity, by arranging their funeral - until one day he is told by his boss that he is no longer needed and has one last 'case' to investigate. Thus he is sent on one final quest - to find the relatives of Billy Stoke.It is a film about death, but it is not morbid. The film has a meandering pace, although this is not a criticism. The scenes unfold as if one were pausing to take in the enormity of what we are seeing, as if we were at a funeral observing, for the first time, the life being celebrated.However, what really excels is the way that all the elements of film-making work together to make this an enjoyable watch. The cinematography (I'm reminded of those great movies from the 1950s), the screen writing, the Art Direction, music, sound, all add to what is a well directed piece from a veteran of the cinema. There's a lovely subtle dialogue exchange in the morgue about a Dodo - you need to watch this to get it - that expresses so well the understated yet genius nature of this film.If you love Transformers, you'll hate this movie. I love this film. Each viewing reveals information that was missed. It's one, I should think, I shall watch a good number of times.

excalibur212 Perfect movie! Easily 5 stars. From watching the trailer i knew it would be a dark/emotional film, and it was flawlessly executed and delivered (written/directed/edited)! Do not expect a happy feel-good movie! This is a masterpiece for the thinking/intellectual/soulful human, not your average idiot moviegoer.Themes include: family, estrangement/reconciliation, empathy, loss, life, death, loneliness/isolation, personal/spiritual journeys, and ultimately finding peace/happiness and freeing the soul).If you liked this movie and aren't the type of moron who calls it "depressing" because it's not your Hollywood feel-good bubblegum nonsense, you'll probably also enjoy some other great dark films that explore similar themes: "About Schmidt", "Leaving Las Vegas", and "My Girl". I highly recommend all 3 films.p.s. You also may need to turn on the subtitles to catch some of the slang in just a couple of key/funny scenes if you're not a Brit or really good with UK dialect (90% of the movie is perfectly intelligible to an American ear, but i definitely had to google some of those great local euphemisms in a few fast-spoken lines), but well worth it... I'm ready to watch it again. Definitely needs a few repeated viewings to catch all the metaphors and inside jokes.Watch it. :-)