Review by Jenny Priestley
Stars Charles Thomas Oldham, Derek Jacobi, Sophie Thompson,
Greg Wise, Ian Hart, Naomie Harris | Written by Charles Thomas Oldham
UK certification 12 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 100 minutes | Directed by Lucy Akhurst
There are times when I think The Office has a lot to answer for. Because without Gervais and Merchant's seminal TV series, I doubt we'd have the spate of British mockumentaries gracing both the small and big screens over the past few years.
The latest is Morris: A Life With Bells On, which follows a group of Morris dancers – and specifically Derecq Twist, who wants to bring Morris into the new century. This of course pits him against the leader of the Morris Circle, played with brilliant aplomb by Jacobi. The story follows Derecq and his troupe as they prepare for a big competition, but they want to introduce new moves which are not part of the "traditions" of Morris. This leads to Derecq's expulsion from the Circle.
We then get a total shift in tone as the film moves from the quirkiness of rural Dorset to the bright lights of Los Angeles and Derecq joins a Morris troupe helping to turn them into superstars in the world of folk dancing on the West Coast. But that's my problem; Morris is such a British institution and I think the film loses some of its fun in the move to America.
The performances are all good, Oldham carries the film, appearing in pretty much every scene. I adored Jacobi as the pompous head of the Morris Circle and the supporting cast – including Thompson, Wise and Hart – are all top notch. The problem with the film is it's pitched as a comedy but to be honest, it rarely raises anything above the odd smile. It's easy to laugh at a tradition where men dance around wearing bells and waving hankies at one another – and too many times the script goes for the cheap laugh. I suppose it's wrong to compare it to something like The Office but that series set such a high standard for this sort of thing that everything else pretty much comes up short.
EXTRAS None