Mindhorn (2016)

A has-been actor best known for playing the title character in the 1980s detective series "Mindhorn" must work with the police when a serial killer says that he will only speak with Detective Mindhorn, whom he believes to be a real person.

Director:

Sean Foley

Writers:

Julian Barratt (screenplay), Simon Farnaby (screenplay)

Stars:

Julian Barratt, Simon Farnaby, Essie Davis

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julian Barratt	...	Richard Thorncroft
Simon Farnaby	...	Clive Parnevik
Essie Davis	...	Patricia Deville
Steve Coogan	...	Peter Easterman
Richard McCabe	...	Jeffrey Moncrieff
Andrea Riseborough	...	DS Elena Baines
Russell Tovey	...	Paul Melly
Robin Morrissey	...	PC Green
David Schofield	...	Chief Inspector Derek Newsome
Alannah Olivia	...	Casting Receptionist
Christopher Jenner Cole	...	Richard Crowthorne
Sean Foley	...	Kenneth Branagh's Producer
Jessye Romeo	...	Agent's Secretary
Harriet Walter	...	Richard's Agent
Simon Callow	...	Simon Callow

Storyline

Richard Thorncroft is a has-been British TV actor who used to be famous in the late 1980's for playing the titular and charismatic lead role in the Isle of Man detective show Mindhorn, a character with a robotic eye that can literally "see the truth". Unfortunately, after becoming a little too pompous and arrogant, Richard ends up insulting both the Isle of Man and his fellow cast members on the Wogan chat-show, including his on-screen and real life love interest Patricia Deville (Essie Davies), his stuntman (Simon Farnaby), and bit-part costar Peter Easterman (Steve Coogan). He decides to leave to try and make it big in Hollywood, but 25 years later he's balding in a flat in North London and has recently been replaced for an orthopaedic sock advert by John Nettles, much to his chagrin. He is even more jealous that Easterman now fronts a long running spin-off show which has far eclipsed the success of Mindhorn. Richard has an unexpected opportunity to reignite his career though when a...

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Plot Keywords:

isle of man | police | 1980s | actor | serial killer | 

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Taglines:

Tough on crime, easy on the eye.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 2017 (UK)

Also Known As:

Майндхорн

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Baby Cow Films, Isle of Man Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 1989 and July 2016.

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Goofs

The opening sequence is set in 1989, when "Mindhorn" the TV show is being made. The rest of the film is then set "25 years later" which would be 2014. However, when Thorncroft is caught on CCTV running through the streets drunk, the time stamp on the video clearly shows 2016. However, as stated the TV show "Mindhorn" ran for three years/seasons. As such, 2016 would be 25 years after the TV show's end.

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Quotes

Richard Thorncroft: The Benedict Cumberbatch Backlash has begun.

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Crazy Credits

A song by "Richard Thorncroft" plays over the closing credits. After the credits, the music video for the same song plays.

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Connections

References Amadeus (1984)

User Reviews

Stick with this one...it gets better and better as you watch.

"Mindthorn" is one of the newest Netflix productions to be released. However, it is very unusual in that it has a mostly British cast and it was filmed on the Isle of Man…an unusual location for a Netflix film, I know. In fact, most people outside the United Kingdom probably have no idea where the Isle of Man is or if it exists at all! I assure you, it does and the self-governing island is hope to tailless cats and motorcycle racing!

When the story begins, you learn that back in the late 1980s there was a British television series called "Mindthorn". It was about some bizarre private detective with a cybernetic eye who went on adventures and solved crimes. The problem is that today, a crazed maniac believes that the show was completely real and is demanding the police let him speak to Mindthorn. As for the actor who played the title character, Richard Thorncroft (Julian Barrett) is a complete mess and can only find work doing commercials for compression socks and adult bladder protection these days! He hopes that by traveling to the island that he'll become a hero and revive his stalled career. But there is one serious problem….Thorncroft is a complete jerk…and a dumb one at that. He manages to alienate just about everyone he meets and you cannot help but hate him….but there is far, far more to the story.

Up to the point I've described, the film is a bit hard to take because Thorncroft is such a big jerk….a thorough and complete jerk. Fortunately, the second half of the film improves tremendously and becomes rather funny…especially when he ends up teaming up with a guy who calls himself 'the Kestrel'. The film takes a definite turn towards the weird as well as the heroic and actually is very unique and worth seeing.

This film is clearly one that I urge you to keep watching…even with a slow start. My wife cringed repeatedly and found Thorncroft's character so annoying and awful she wanted to stop watching. As for me, I have a higher threshold for the embarrassing and weird and really enjoyed the film. It's uneven, of course, but a film that ends on a very high note. Hopefully, we'll see more stuff like this from Netflix.