In this sombre British drama, two troubled individuals come together to form an unlikely friendship. The older of the two is Joseph (Timothy Spall), a boozy, depressed widower who has come to Blackpool so that he can kill himself. After a failed attempt, he is discovered by Ria (Juno Temple), a feisty young woman who is running away from an abusive relationship. She believes that the two of them should become friends, but Joseph pushes her away at every turn, which is where the film starts to feel slightly repetitive. On the plus side, it features an impressive performance from Temple, who conveys the vulnerability that lies beneath her character's tough, streetwise exterior. Sadly, though, the film itself is so grim and downbeat that it may just be too bleak for some. Timothy and Juno make this better than it is and Matt Ryan makes for a surprisingly intimidating villain figure, but the amount of clichés and melodrama here make the nearly two hour run time feel like an eternity. Also, note to directors: telling your story out of sequence doesn't immediately make it better. It is really messy sequencing but still worth worthing.
