SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER

Director
Carl Hunter
(Feature film debut)

Stars
Bill Nighy, Sam Riley and Alice Lowe

SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER is based on a short story called Triple Word Score written by script writer Frank Cottrel Boyce. It’s a lightweight and breezy comedy/drama that stars Bill Nighy as Alan, a fine tailor and an even better scrabble competitor whose eldest son, Michael has gone missing. Alan utilises his son’s disappearance as an opportunity to try to repair the broken relationship he has with his other son, Peter (Sam Riley), who is easily exacerbated by him.

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Attending a session of SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER at the cinema brought on a similar feeling to what I experienced when visiting my grandparents as a young boy. I was appreciative of the kind company and harmless environment I was in and therefore felt obliged to be polite by staying for as long as expected. However, in the back of my mind, I would eagerly await to hear the sound of the car keys being picked up from the table knowing the visitation is over. Perhaps catching up with your own grandparents was (or is) more exciting than what mine were back then. On the contrary to that analogy, SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER is certainly not a bad movie. I just couldn’t shake a distinct feeling of boredom and disinterest by way of a very thin script and the film’s peculiar and very dull visual execution. Quite often, SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER appears better suited to being and is even akin to watching a stage play. Though this film’s content rarely ever makes itself substantial enough, there is a winsomeness to the dialogue and a natural awkwardness displayed by the characters throughout that will win over a select few.