Northern Soul (2004)

Director:

Shane Meadows

Writer:

Shane Meadows (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Short | Comedy

Plot:

Mark Sherbet is a young man obsessed with American wrestling. He dreams of becoming a professional wrestler but he has no idea what he is letting himself in for. Unfortunately for him, Mike couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag.

Plot Keywords:

Wrestling | Dark Comedy | Northern England

Cast

Jo Hartley	...	Jo Sherbert
Jordan Dodd	...	Jordan
David Coutts	...	Wrestling organiser
Glyn Woods	...	The Wrestler (Rainz)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Toby Kebbell	...	Mark Sherbert

Runtime:

UK:30 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Big Arty Productions

Trivia:

As Mark Sherbert enters his home in the final scene and his wife, Jo, lets him in the front door, a framed picture of Richard from the movie Dead Man's Shoes (2004) can be seen hanging in the hallway. This image features Richard standing with an axe in the Shane Meadows movie, which also features both Toby Kebbell and Jo Hartley.

A funny mockumentary with a very British bittersweet heart

This is a mockumentary following the story of Mark Sherbert. At the start of the film Mark is put out by his wife of 12 months because she has fallen out of love of him. Living out of his car for a short time, Mark is not deterred by the hurts in his life by his dream of not only becoming a wrestler but also making it to the top of British Professional Wrestling circuit. However given that he is unable to take any sort of pain, has pasty skin and weighs 9 stone things do not look that good.

Shawn Meadows is hard to put a finger on, with this film being different from the other films of his that I have seen (which were different enough in comparison to themselves). I expected some sort of morbid and realistic look at Nottingham life but was very pleasantly surprised by a 'documentary' film that is delivered with such a bittersweet comedy that it is hard not to love it. The film starts with a scene that is a little sad and comes across as acted, but then mixes 'to camera' stuff where Mark talks to director Shane as well as other scenes that are not done in a documentary style. The actual plot can be viewed as maybe being about the lack of real dreams in Nottingham and, in that way, it certainly works and is very true – can you imagine a similar film coming out of America? The land where dreams are always obtainable! With this very British, low key approach the film proves itself to be a winner – a contender if you will.

The film is pretty funny for the first half, and features a painfully real (and painfully funny) wrestling match in a pub but then it is also rather sad. The sadness is perhaps too easily added by quite an ordinary (but nice) song from Clayhill, who Mark finds playing in a working mans' club. This still works though and the rather sweet tragedy of Mark; certainly the ending is bittersweet and backs up the 'dreams in the Midlands' side of the plot by showing that really all many of us can really aim for is to be settled. It is effective and I imagine that British viewers with British sensibilities will be easily won over by it.

Overall this is a very enjoyable short film that will appeal to those of us that live pleasant, but low key little lives. Shorn of all the glamour and shouting that would accompany any American film about big dreams this is a sweet little film that is funny as well as a little touching. Well worth seeing as a company piece to Meadow's full features.