Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee
What?
I’ll be honest, I’m a big fan of Shane Meadows. I’ve seen and more or less loved all his films. I’m also a big fan of Paddy Considine. He is, without doubt, one of the finest British actors of the last decade. They are, in many ways, the midlands equivalent of De Niro and Scorsese. They’ve made some cracking films together and it is clear that they have a deep and abiding love and respect for each other. Their last film together ‘Dead Man Shoes’ was an incendiary masterwork. Since then Meadows has been plowing a similarly intense furrow so it is only fair that for their latest collaboration that they have set their sights a little lower. ‘Le Donk and Scor-say-zee’ was shot quickly, scripted barely and improvised heavily. Set around loose circumstance and improbable situations ‘Le Donk’ is like 'Spinal Tap' turned down from 11.
Largely improvised and concerning the misadventures of roadie cum manager ‘Le Donk’ and his homey monster sized rap protégé ‘Scor-Zay-see’, the film is without doubt largely inconsequential but not without its fun moments. That said your enjoyment of the film will likely rest upon your appreciation of the character that Considine crafts for Le Donk. He is something of an acquired taste and, for this reviewer, somewhat hard to warm to. Fortunately Scor-Say-Zee himself has a lot of appeal and, when he takes to the stage, you can’t help but see the talent behind the useless exterior. In addition to this ‘Calm down Deirdre Barlow’ may well be the best lyric of the year.
Optics:
I get the impression that this film was shot on high def video but not in the same sense as something like ‘Benjamin Button’. As a result of this it has the look of a reasonably well shot home movie. Something you could knock up with a couple of reasonably cheap cameras. This leads to a DVD transfer that does the job but does little to excite your peepholes.
Sonics:
This is shot in the documentary style and, as a result, the audio also has the ‘captured’ feel. This makes for a naturalistic feel but not the most dynamic of experiences. This is a fair summation of the intended audio experience but it is unlikely to excite or test your system.
Extras:
You get deleted scenes, a featurette on the premier of the film and a couple of trailers. Personally I would have liked a commentary and some additional footage of Scor-Say-Zee in action but I was left wanting on this occasion.
Well?
The film is a reasonably diverting watch but your enjoyment will depend largely on your feelings about the character of Le Donk. It is also unusually short, running only an hour and eleven minutes. As a result of this it is hard to feel anything other than slightly short changed by what feels like a minor work from a major director.
Chris Hacking
I’ll be honest, I’m a big fan of Shane Meadows. I’ve seen and more or less loved all his films. I’m also a big fan of Paddy Considine. He is, without doubt, one of the finest British actors of the last decade. They are, in many ways, the midlands equivalent of De Niro and Scorsese. They’ve made some cracking films together and it is clear that they have a deep and abiding love and respect for each other. Their last film together ‘Dead Man Shoes’ was an incendiary masterwork. Since then Meadows has been plowing a similarly intense furrow so it is only fair that for their latest collaboration that they have set their sights a little lower. ‘Le Donk and Scor-say-zee’ was shot quickly, scripted barely and improvised heavily. Set around loose circumstance and improbable situations ‘Le Donk’ is like 'Spinal Tap' turned down from 11.
Largely improvised and concerning the misadventures of roadie cum manager ‘Le Donk’ and his homey monster sized rap protégé ‘Scor-Zay-see’, the film is without doubt largely inconsequential but not without its fun moments. That said your enjoyment of the film will likely rest upon your appreciation of the character that Considine crafts for Le Donk. He is something of an acquired taste and, for this reviewer, somewhat hard to warm to. Fortunately Scor-Say-Zee himself has a lot of appeal and, when he takes to the stage, you can’t help but see the talent behind the useless exterior. In addition to this ‘Calm down Deirdre Barlow’ may well be the best lyric of the year.
Optics:
I get the impression that this film was shot on high def video but not in the same sense as something like ‘Benjamin Button’. As a result of this it has the look of a reasonably well shot home movie. Something you could knock up with a couple of reasonably cheap cameras. This leads to a DVD transfer that does the job but does little to excite your peepholes.
Sonics:
This is shot in the documentary style and, as a result, the audio also has the ‘captured’ feel. This makes for a naturalistic feel but not the most dynamic of experiences. This is a fair summation of the intended audio experience but it is unlikely to excite or test your system.
Extras:
You get deleted scenes, a featurette on the premier of the film and a couple of trailers. Personally I would have liked a commentary and some additional footage of Scor-Say-Zee in action but I was left wanting on this occasion.
Well?
The film is a reasonably diverting watch but your enjoyment will depend largely on your feelings about the character of Le Donk. It is also unusually short, running only an hour and eleven minutes. As a result of this it is hard to feel anything other than slightly short changed by what feels like a minor work from a major director.
Chris Hacking
Director:
Shane Meadows
Starring:
Paddy Considine
Scor-Say-Zee
Arctic Monkeys
Best line:
"Calm down Deirdre Barlow."
Tagline:
Description:
Warp Films
Region 2
Rated 15
1Hr 11 Mins
1.85:1
(Anamorphic)
Dolby Digital 5.1
Deleted scenes
The film's premiere
Trailers
Ratings: (Out of 5)
Film 3.0
Optics 3.0
Sonics 3.0
Extras 2.5
Overall 3.0
