The Legend of Barney Thomson

Dir: Robert Carlyle

2015

**

Robert Carlyle's directional debut is an adaptation of Douglas Lindsay's novel The Long Midnight of Barney Thomson, the first of several books featuring a Glaswegian barber (Barney Thomson) who finds himself mixed up in the surreal world of serial killing. I have no idea how the books read as I haven't read them, Robert Carlyle may have got them spot on for all I know and indeed, elements of his debut are impressive, it is just that he seems hellbent on emulating the Brothers Coen and doing rather a sad job of it. There is a lot I did enjoy about the film, I thought the visuals were good and the structure and editing well thought through. Carlyle's compositions were often quite glorious, Glasgow being the big unaccredited star of the production. I just didn't care much for the story. It is a mishmash of other people's stories made into one. It's probably not a case of Robert Carlyle trying to emulate the Coens, but rather Douglas Lindsay but like I said, I haven't read his books so couldn't comment further. Either way, it feels like a poor imitation of the work of Joel and Ethan. I don't think Robert Carlyle was right for the part, neither he or his character held my attention very long. Ray Winstone was okay as the cockney inspector up north and it was nice to see Ashley Jensen on screen again but as good as Emma Thompson's make-up was, I really don't understand why she was cast. She's a big name obviously and her accent isn't too bad but surely there are plenty of Scottish actors who would have been more suited to the role. I found her distracting which took something away from her character who should have been far more interesting. The conclusion wasn't quite the rewarding finale I was hoping for either with the second to last scene being somewhat of a shambles in my opinion. It may well be a great read but for me I'm not sure Barney Thomson's leap into the big screen was really warranted, so whether it's the book or the film at fault, I didn't think much of the film and I doubt I'll be reading the books.