Christopher Eccleston makes his first appearance for Other Doctor Lives, in a film that’s unfortunately not a worthy match for his talents. The themes and ideas of this dramedy have potential, but thanks to a broadly-drawn and underwritten script, their potential is never fully realized.
Arthur isn’t happy in his life. Certainly not now, but possibly not ever. His wife Marion’s cancer has just relapsed, and at this stage in the disease and in her life, she’s decided not to fight it any longer. Rather, she wants to enjoy the time she has left, making the most of her remaining days with Arthur and having fun with her friends in the local senior citizen choir. But Arthur doesn’t want to make the most of anything. He’s angry, upset, and afraid, and those who try to draw him out – from his well-meaning son James to the bubbly choir director Elizabeth – are met with resistance at every turn.
Like I said, there’s definitely potential here. It’s understandable that Arthur is having a hard time with Marion’s terminal diagnosis, and it’s clear that, while he’s never been a “life of the party” type, this experience is throwing all his antisocial tendencies into overdrive. The stuff with the senior choir is more than a little obvious – pensioners performing “Love Shack” and “Let’s Talk about Sex,” oh the lolz! – but the actors sell it well, and the more sincere musical moments reliably tug at your heartstrings. Case in point: despite being fully aware that this is a lackluster movie, if you think I didn’t tear up at the sight of Vanessa Redgrave as a terminally-ill woman singing Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” for her gruff husband, you’ve got another thing coming.
But even if there are good elements here, they don’t come together in a way that’s narratively satisfying. The pace of the film feels off in numerous places, and there’s a prevailing sense of the flow being off-kilter. There isn’t a strong progression of events, so it doesn’t feel like we get much of anywhere organically. Also, far too many scenes hinge on characters coming in hot for little reason – most of Arthur’s scenes with his son open on the premise that Arthur has already assumed James isn’t going to come through for him/Marion, and an early scene of Elizabeth berating Arthur for not being more supportive of Marion, while understandable up to a point, completely overlooks the fact that she’s talking to a man who’s already grieving the wife he’s in the process of losing.
I’m not all that familiar with Terence Stamp, who plays Arthur, but IMDb tells me he’s appeared in a handful of things I’ve seen, and apparently he played Zod in the Christopher Reeve Superman. Given the deficits of the script, Stamp doesn’t have great material to work with, but when the story turns things down a few notches and gets out of his way, he turns in nice work. Gemma Arterton gets the job done as the cheery, overly-earnest Elizabeth; even though Elizabeth’s words/actions to her senior charges often veer to the wrong side of patronizing, Arterton mostly succeeds in keeping it from coming across that way. Vanessa Redgrave is effective as Marion, although the role doesn’t seem all that worth her time.
Eccleston plays James, a salt-of-the-earth type who’s way more involved in his family than his dad gives him credit for. The film doesn’t give much indication that James has let his parents down or hasn’t been there for them in the past, anything to lend the barest credence to Arthur’s permanent attitude about him, but his actions in the present certainly don’t suggest anything like that. As such, the scenes between him and Arthur are frustrating because, without any context of that sort, their conflicts feel forced, narratively dictated rather than organic.
What I do like are the scenes between James and his daughter Jennifer. James is easily and effectively painted as a caring, very present dad, understated in a way that most of the film isn’t. I wonder if that’s because most of their dynamic plays out in onscreen business instead of through scripted dialogue (so the screenplay doesn’t have a chance to overbake it!) In particular, I enjoy a scene of James and Jennifer fooling around in the kitchen while making cookies with Marion. Eccleston is just effortlessly good playing off of young actress Orla Hill, and the scene brings a sincerity that much of the film lacks.
Accent Watch
Sounds like London/Cockney-ish to me.
Recommend?
In General – Naw. Despite some good raw materials here, the film doesn’t use them effectively, and I’m sure you could find better examples elsewhere of just about anything this film offers.
Christopher Eccleston – Probably not. Not that Eccleston isn’t good here, because he is, but the film isn’t really worth his time or yours.
Warnings
Language, sexual references/innuendo, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.
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