Faintheart
| Faintheart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Vito Rocco |
| Produced by |
Peter Carlton Nick Love Rob Morgan Lee Thomas |
| Written by | David Lemon |
| Starring |
Eddie Marsan Ewen Bremner Jessica Hynes Tim Healy Paul Nicholls Bronagh Gallagher Phil Lester |
| Music by | Mike Batt |
| Cinematography | David Katznelson |
| Edited by | Neil Smith |
Production company | |
| Distributed by |
Vertigo Films Contender Entertainment Group |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Faintheart is a 2008 British comedy film, directed by Vito Rocco and starring Eddie Marsan, Ewen Bremner and Jessica Hynes. It concerns a lead character involved in the historical reenactment of ancient battles; and is the first film to be created using active input from an online site.[1][2]
The film was a result of collaborative effort from Myspace, Vertigo films and Film4. The resulting group, MyMovieMashUp, sought to harness the talents of the online community and to enable them to be involved in the film-making process.[3] Various cast and crew members were picked from the MySpaceUK website to work on the project, a unique tactic in the film-making industry.[4] Although the casting and soundtrack were assembled with the help of Myspace, the screenplay was written by UK-based writer David Lemon.[5]
Professional Viking re-enactors from UK-based company "The Vikings" formed part of the cast alongside Britannia Romano-British society.[6][7] Also a specialist stunt team from East 15 Acting School took part in filming the large battles under the Fight Direction of Richard Ryan.
Plot
Romantic comedy concerning Richard and his efforts to win back his wife, whilst taking part in weekend re-enactments of Viking battles. At the same time he is bullied at work and his son is bullied at school because of his father's hobby.[2]
Cast
- Eddie Marsan as Richard
- Ewen Bremner as Julian
- Jessica Hynes as Cath
- Bronagh Gallagher as Maggie
- Tim Healy as Geoff
- Paul Nicholls as Gary
- Anne Reid as Barbara
- Joseph Hamilton as Martin
- Chloe Hesar as Emily
- Richard Ridings as Collin
- Gary Sefton as Vince
- Kevin Eldon as Alan
- Sandra Voe as Julian's Mum
- Matthew Leighton as Kim
- Tom Smith as Danny
- Phil Lester as Tim
- Oscar McDevitt as Pete
- Rasmus Hardiker as Comic Book Fan 1
- Edward Tudor-Pole as Lollipop Man / Death Metal Singer
- Tim Potter as Headmaster
- Aliese Kellner-Joyce as Office Worker
- Colin Webb as Policeman
- George Hill as Boy With Owl
- Chris R. Wright as Simon
- Calum Chalmers as Kevin
- Steve Ryland as Comic Book Fan 2
- Nick Ball as Graham
- Jason Excell as Death Metal Band Bassist
- Graeme Brookes as Pub Landlord
- Joseph Ripley as Photographer
- Rosalyn Scanlon as Office Worker
Critical reception
- The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, writing, "this is not a bad movie, exactly, but it aims curiously low, and is faintly pointless; and while the actors cope well with the material, they are finally just cardboard characters in a balsa-wood plot." [8]
- Sky Movies gave the film four out of five stars, saying, "it's a totally unexpected hoot...Director Vito Rocco and credited writer David Lemon have done a terrific job in creating one of the most consistently funny and winning Brit-coms of recent years." [9]
References
- ↑ Peterkin, Tom (2008-06-15). "Faintheart, world's first MySpace movie, to debut at Edinburgh Film Festival". Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- 1 2 "Faintheart | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ "Want to be a star? How MySpace made a movie - Features - Films". The Independent. 2008-12-29. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ "Film Network - Features - Faintheart: set visit". BBC. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1017004/
- ↑ "Britannia". Durolitum.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ Ian Muirhead. "The Vikings!". Vikingsonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ Xan Brooks (2009-01-23). "Film review: Faintheart | Film". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
- ↑ "Faintheart - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
Further reading
- http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/885/885204p1.html 'A Comedy for the Geek In Us All' (IGN Review)
- http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/films/2008/faintheart/reviews/ (Reviews, Cambridge Film Festival)
- Sheila Johnston (2008-07-05). "Is 'Faintheart' just a gimmick?". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group Limited).
- Tom Peterkin (2008-06-15). "Faintheart, world's first MySpace movie, to debut at Edinburgh Film Festival". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group Limited).
- Devin Leonard (2008-07-11). "MySpace goes to the movies". CNN.