Heartlands (2003)

Decked out in a goofy hobbit wig, Michael Sheen plays Colin, a Sheffield candystore owner who sets off for the bright lights of Blackpool in pursuit of his runaway wife. The opening scenes show promise, but the local accent can be hard to parse and Colin's adventures on the road are pretty low impact—he gets a haircut from a friendly biker, chats with a Brownie troop leader, marvels at a windfarm and some gorgeous rolling hills… Funded with lottery money, this film was meant, I guess, to celebrate the joys of the old-fashioned simple life in the North—darts and trad music at the pub, garish seaside resorts and such. I'm usually a pushover for this kind of thing, but despite an expert cast (including the fabulous Ruth Jones of "Gavin and Stacey"!) and a great soundtrack (esp. Kate Rusby, a Maddy Prior–type folksinger), I just wasn't feelin' it most of the time. Full disclosure: I put this on because my wife wanted "something quiet" to help her get to sleep. It worked.

To be honest I only got this film (on my Xmas list!!) as I have become somewhat of a Kate Rusby anorak over recent months!! Knowing that the beautiful Barnsley lass featured in a cameo and contributed to much of the soundtrack (along with her hubby the incredibly talented John McCusker) was enough for me to get the film, expecting everything else to be incidental. The music is wonderful (as you would expect from Ms Rusby!) and to see the lady herself singing was an added bonus.However, the film itself surpassed all of my expectations and left me sitting there at the end just thinking "what a really lovely film", yet without being twee. In many ways it came across to me as an example of what British film can do best; quietly humorous, great characters and a rolling story that gently unrolls from a simple plot. Man loses wife, man sets out to find wife, man finds wife.I genuinely warmed to the main character Colin (especially after he got his hair cut!!) which was superbly acted by Michael Sheen as he set out on his moped to win back his wife. The scenery (and music!) were wonderful and the simple but real characters he came across during his quest added up to a superbly crafted film. The Eric Bristow obsessed darts playing newsagent seemed an unlikely character to warm to but this film achieved that with ease.A lovely, warm, amusing film that far exceeded my expectations and one that I would recommend to anybody that appreciates good quality British films.

I am an American, so I guess I missed the stereotypical treatment of the "hero" and his small town friends. I thought this was a charming little movie about a simple man who discovers some simple truths about himself and the world around him. The northern English countryside was beautifully presented. Since I live in a small town in the southern U.S., I am sensitive to stereotypical treatment of us provincial folk, but this movie seemed to be genuine in its affection for its protagonist and the denizens of the "north country". This well told little story shows us that life constantly takes strange little detours, and that sometimes it's best to go with the flow, and it does it without beating us over the head with the "message".

Why has this film only been released on DVD now, I never heard of this movie until I saw the cover sitting on a videostore shelf where are part-time.From the first scene to end of the credits I sat mesmerised by this film, the hapless hero Colin (Michael Sheen) travels to Blackpool on a moped to reclaim his wife Sandra (Jane Robbins) so simply a plot line done many times before but blows all attempts out of the water. The reason why he travels there wasn't why I loved this film, it was the journey, the people he meets along the way, the desire everyone has to just run free but are tied down by a 9-5 life. Colin's naivety is almost childlike that I smiled when he came across the fan turbines (sorry the name escapes me). It was shot beautifully, with superb acting and the soundtrack magnified it sheer brilliance.I put the DVD in expecting...well I didn't expect anything, road movies are usually repetitive and fail to keep you interested as the end closes in, however this film didn't do that it continued to amaze me until the end. This film is 100% fun.