neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Once Upon A Time In The Midlands
	Shane Meadows Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Shirley Henderson, Kathy Burke, Ricky Tomlinson, Finn Atkins 2002		It's an intermittently amusing serio-comedy set in modern, working-class England, yet "Once Upon a Time in the Midlands," directed and co-written by Shane Meadows, also pays homage to the spaghetti Westerns of Italian director Sergio Leone and his ilk. And thanks to the skills of a crackerjack cast, it whips up some welcome emotional involvement. Good-guy Dek (gangly Rhys Ifans of "Notting Hill") is a dull, decent sort who lives in suburban Nottingham and manages a garage. Dek may be a dork, but he's devoted to his girlfriend Shirley (versatile Shirley Henderson of "Topsy-Turvy") and her daughter Marlene (precocious Finn Atkins). He's so enamored of Shirley that he surprises her with a marriage proposal on a TV talk show, only to be rejected in front of a national audience. Worse for Dek, Shirley's violence-prone ex-lover Jimmy (volatile Robert Carlyle of "The Full Monty"), father of Marlene, sees the broadcast. Jimmy, a petty crook looking to score, senses a chance to get back with Shirley. A macho showdown between Dek and Jimmy is inevitable, with eccentric neighbors such as aspiring country singer Charlie (Ricky Tomlinson) and his estranged wife Carol (Kathy Burke), sister of Jimmy, taking sides.