Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

Director:

Shane Meadows

Writers:

Paul Fraser (written by) and
Shane Meadows (written by)

Release Date:

6 September 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A tinned spaghetti western

Plot:

After seeing his ex-girlfriend (Henderson) turn down a nationally televised marriage proposal, a small-time crook (Carlyle) returns to his hometown to try and win back her heart.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Clown | Country Western Music | Bingo | Singer

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Jimmy
Vanessa Feltz	...	Vanessa
Ricky Tomlinson	...	Charlie
Kathy Burke	...	Carol
Vicki Patterson	...	Audience Guest
Shirley Henderson	...	Shirley
Finn Atkins	...	Marlene
Kelly Thresher	...	Donna
Rhys Ifans	...	Dek
Andrew Shim	...	Donut
Ryan Bruce	...	Emerson
Eliot Otis Brown Walters	...	Lake
Anthony Strachan	...	Jumbo (as Antony Strachan)
David McKay	...	Dougy (as David Mckay)
James Cosmo	...	Billy

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-7 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:A

Filming Locations:

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

FilmFour

Trivia:

When Dek (played by Rhys Ifans) finds out that Jimmy (played by Robert Carlyle), is back in town, he proclaims to Carol: "He's only your foster brother! He could have Hannibal Lector's DNA for all we know! Rhys Ifans went on to portray Grutas, Hannibal Lector's nemesis, in Hannibal Rising.

Quotes:

[Referring to Jimmy]
Dek: He's only your foster brother! He could have Hannibal Lector's DNA for all we know!

Movie Connections:

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Soundtrack:

Ballroom Blitz

Decent

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is a British film starring Shirley Henderson, Rhys Ifans, and Robert Carlyle, and was directed by Shane Meadows. It is a Romance-Comedy-Drama that hit U.S. theaters in art-houses. It adopts the spaghetti western title "Once upon a time in.." that Sergio Leone used in such works as Once Upon a Time in America and Once Upon a Time in the West. However, about as far as this movie goes in its intriguing title is using the occasional Western music. I think Meadows choice to not go all out in his "tinned adaptation" is wise, because it makes one think about why it was called that. Even so, this movie doesn't really have much going for it besides its great title. It's another love triangle, Carlyle and Ifans are rivals for the love of Shirely Henderson. Ifans character is fascinating with his apparent cowardice and serious comical lovability. This is an enjoyable movie, more slow than suspenseful, just more like sweet, with predictability but lovability.

My grade: 6/10