Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Directors: Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, Lionsgate, PG, 95 Minutes.
This pleasing British made film shot in Scotland is a family drama that is as moving as it is humorous and features a great cast together with sensational scenes of the Scottish Highlands.
Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, directors and co-writers of the TV series ‘Outnumbered’, have adapted to the screen a touching account of what is an often tense family relationship that spans the generational divide.
The story is centred on a married couple Abi (Rosamund Pike – ‘Gone Girl’) and Doug (David Tennant – ‘Dr Who’) travelling to Scotland with their three clever children to celebrate the 75th birthday of Doug’s dad Gordie (Billy Connolly – ‘Quartet’).
Prior to embarking on their holiday with their grandfather and the other relatives the parents tell their children-Lottie (Emilia Jones – ‘One Day’), Mickey (Bobby Smalldridge – TV Series ‘Him’) and Jess (Harriet Turnbull) not to mention their separation.
However, the dynamics of the story change when granddad (who has an incurable illness) agrees to accompany his grandkids to a nearby lake where Mickey’s fascination for Vikings folklore makes Gordie espouse his dying wish for a Vikings funeral.
What transpires next is a series of amusing and poignant scenes that impact on the entire family, most predominantly on Doug’s anxious brother Gavin (Ben Miller – ‘Johnny English’’) and his quirky wife Margaret (Amelia Bulimore – TV’s ‘Scott and Bailey’).
Comedic directors Hamilton and Jenkin’s have fashioned a clever British drama by showing how a dysfunctional family deals with the relationship difficulties of their separation as well as those relating to the extended family.
Apart from their family’s problems are the children’s profound relationship with their grandfather especially their extraordinary efforts to make him happy and achieve his last wish.
Besides a smart script, the major highlights include Connolly’s brilliant portrayal as the family patriarch and the enjoyable performances of the scene-stealing children from both Jones and Smalldridge.
By the end of the movie Hamilton and Jenkin’s rendition of ‘What We Did on Our Holiday’ turns-out to be an entertaining and heart-warming viewing experience.
What We Did On Our Hoiday is to be televised on SBS World Movies at 1.05pm on Saturday 12 June.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
