8 Minutes Idle (2012)

Based upon Matt Thorne's award-winning novel about life in a call centre, "Eight Minutes Idle" is a warped urban comedy about what it really means to put your life 'on hold'! Dan Thomas has... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Simon Hewis

Writers:

Nicholas Blincoe (screenplay), Matt Thorne (novel)

Stars:

Ophelia Lovibond, Antonia Thomas, Paul Kaye

Cast

Credited cast:
Ophelia Lovibond	...	Teri
Antonia Thomas	...	Adrienne
Paul Kaye	...	Steve
Tom Hughes	...	Dan
Pippa Haywood	...	Kathy
Jack Ashton	...	Ian
Montserrat Lombard	...	Alice
Divian Ladwa	...	Dev
Luke Newberry	...	Jonno
Robert Wilfort	...	Bryan
Leigh Quinn	...	Carrie Oke
Sarah Buckland	...	Nurse
Angela P. Martinez	...	Eva
Nick Blakeley	...	Caller on Hold
Roddy Peters	...	Spencer

Storyline

Based upon Matt Thorne's award-winning novel about life in a call centre, "Eight Minutes Idle" is a warped urban comedy about what it really means to put your life 'on hold'! Dan Thomas has always taken the path of least resistance - in his work life, home life and love life! But when Dan finds himself kicked out of the family home, he's faced with no option but to secretly move into the call centre where he works. Suddenly, everything that he's previously taken for granted - a well-stocked fridge, clean clothes, his friends, his self respect, even his beloved cat - are either disappearing or conspiring against him. As Dan's work/life balance spirals dangerously out of control, he's forced to break out of old habits and to dare to do something he has never had to do before - really care about someone other than himself.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | bare breasts | kneed in the groin | ginger cat | dead cat | 

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Taglines:

You can't put life on hold

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was shot in Bristol and had its world premiere at the Bristol Cinema de Lux which itself can be seen in one of the long shots of the city.

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Soundtracks

Doing a Poo in the Forest
Performed by Kid Carpet
Written by Edward Patrick
Licensed courtesy of Ed Patrick

User Reviews

Drab cold call

8 Minutes Idle is a micro budget feature film set in Bristol. I applaud low budget British films that tend to show a lot of commitment and love just to get it made and tenacity to attract a decent cast who are presumably working for next to nothing.

However the key is to have an exciting script that takes an audience to a journey and they care about the story and characters. The journey can be of the mind, something to make you think rather than something where money is thrown on the screen but has an empty shell like many bigger budget Hollywood films.

Here we follow Dan (Tom Hughes) thrown out of his house and moves with his cat to his place of work where he secretly squats in the ceiling above the toilets in a dull call centre where everyone's job is precarious.

Dan falls in love with co-worker Teri (Ophelia Lovibond) but is also attracted to their horrible boss (Montserrat Lombard.) The film is an adaptation of a novel and is supposedly a comedy that had the potential to be a satirical commentary on the subject of office workplaces during harsh economic times but instead has little of interest to say and is plodding and slow. Some more time and money on the script and interesting characters would had been a start.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

8 Minutes Idle

Filming Locations:

Bristol, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP350,800 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ArthurCox, BBC Films, Matador Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color