Dead Fish

 

Dead Fish 2005

• Director: Charlie Stadler
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Gary Oldman, Robert Carlyle, Elena Anaya, Andrew Lee Potts, Jimi Mistry, Frances Barber, Terence Stamp
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Gary Oldman – The Space Between Us, Dark Knight etc, Tinker Tailor, Harry Potter etc, The Book of Eli, Friends, Lost in Space, The Fifth Element, Immortal Love, Léon, Romeo Is Bleeding, True Romance, Dracula, JFK, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Prick Up Your Ears, Sid and Nancy
• Robert Carlyle – Yesterday, 51^st State, T2 Trainspotting, Stargate Universe, Stone of Destiny, 28 Weeks Later, Flood, Hitler, Black and White, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, The World Is Not Enough, The Full Monty, Hamish Macbeth, Carla’s Song, Trainspotting, Go Now, Riff-Raff
• Elena Anaya – Wonder Woman
• Andrew Lee Potts – Primeval, 1408, Rose & Maloney
• Jimi Mistry – 2012, Blood Diamond, Ella Enchanted, The Guru, Born Romantic, East Is East, Hamlet
• Frances Barber – The Bookshop, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Vicious, Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner, King Lear, Hustle, Still Crazy, Twelfth Night, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
• Terrence Stamp – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, A Song for Marion, Valkyria, Full Frontal, Star Wars, The Limey, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Superman, The Collector
• Why? The cast.
• Seen: 27 August 2022      

       Lynch (Oldman) is a cold-blooded hitman. Danny (Carlyle) is a foul-mouthed debt-collector. Abe (Potts) and Mimi (Anaya) are in love and pregnant, though not happily so. Through a mix-up Abe gets Lynch’s mobile and Lynch gets Abe’s. Lynch falls passionately in love with Mimi and sings about it to his S/M hooker (Barber).

       It’s even more absurd than it sounds.

       Some viewers hated the film. Come on, lighten up! How can you not love this nonsense? The cast is clearly having fun with it and so am I. It’s maybe not the best film ever made but it’s great entertainment for a Saturday evening. I will definitely be watching this several times.

 4* of 5