Rent Sightseers (2012)
3.4 of 5 from 483 ratings
1h 25min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Ginger faced, caravanning enthusiast Chris (Steve Oram) wants to show his new girlfriend Tina (Alice Lowe) his world and he wants to do it his way - on a journey through the British Isles in his beloved caravan. Up until now Tina has led a sheltered life with her over protective mother, but there are things that Chris wants her to see - the Crich Tramway Museum, the Ribblehead Viaduct, the Keswick Pencil Museum and the rolling countryside that accompanies these wonders in his life. But it doesn't take long for the dream to fade. Litterbugs, noisy teenagers and pre-booked caravan sites, not to mention Tina's meddling mother, soon conspire to shatter Chris's dreams and send him, and anyone who rubs him up the wrong way, over a very jagged edge... - Actors:
- Alice Lowe, Kenneth Hadley, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies, Roger Michael, Tony Way, Seamus O'Neill, Monica Dolan, Jonathan Aris, Aymen Hamdouchi, Tom Meeten, Kali Peacock, Stephanie Jacob, Christine Talbot, Richard Lumsden, Dominic Applewhite, Sara Stewart, Richard Glover, Rachel Austin, Gemma Lise Thornton
- Directors:
- Ben Wheatley
- Producers:
- Claire Jones, Nira Park, Andrew Starke
- Voiced By:
- Sara Dee
- Narrated By:
- John Hurt
- Writers:
- Alice Lowe, Steve Oram
- Studio:
- StudioCanal
- Genres:
- Comedy, Romance
- Collections:
- 2013, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Top 10 Camping Films, Top 10 Cycling Films, Top 10 Palm Dog Winners, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 25/03/2013
- Run Time:
- 88 minutes
- Languages:
- English Audio Description, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Making Of
- Out-Takes
- Audio Commentaries with the Director and Cast
More like Sightseers
Reviews (8) of Sightseers
Definitely not a romantic comedy - Sightseers review by hF
Billed as a romance and with a write-up implying quirky humour (and including some of my favourite locations such as the Crich tramway museum) I thought this sounded like a pleasant film about an odd couple caravanning. How wrong could I be?
Gratuitous extremely irrelevant violence - presented in an almost subtle way that initially made it feel funny but as it descended into a tale of psychopathic mayhem to laugh felt like colluding with a deeply humiliating situation. No sympathetic treatment of human frailties. Should be at least an 18 and have a write-up that tells the truth.
I cannot think who I could recommend this to. I only kept watching it hoping it would all turn out to be a dream or have an ending that explained the film, but it didn't.
6 out of 9 members found this review helpful.
Road Comedy. - Sightseers review by Steve
Imagine if in 1973, Mike Leigh and not Terrence Malick directed Badlands. That gets close to the spirit of this low-key British black comedy. And like Leigh's films, this has the effect of dividing its audience. Some may find its casual violence offensive...
A dull, contemptuous caravanner (Steve Oram) dispenses sudden, brutal justice against the trivial thoughtlessness he routinely encounters, while his lonely, pliant girlfriend (Alice Lowe) colludes in a desire to be whatever it takes to stay together. And then goes even further...
This captures something intuitive about the UK; it travels close to the parochialism and anger and bitter humour at the heart of the nation. And the gentle beauty of its countryside. It's the fusion of banal normality and fanatical intolerance which makes this unsettling, yet familiar.
It's not so much un film de Ben Wheatley, though the soundtrack of psychedelic folk makes this borderline horror. This was developed by the writer/actors. It's a small British picture, which feels almost homemade. But this is- for me- the best comedy of its decade.
3 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Deliciously Dark - Sightseers review by CP Customer
I love a good, dark comedy - unfortunately, most play it safe and appear to be fearful of truly creating a demented anti-hero with a deeply sick sense of their own importance. Not so with Sightseers.
This nightmare couple excel in taking a scarily recognisable sense of self-righteous ego overload to the extreme. I have met people a few steps short of this pair who, fortunately, still have their (for want of a psychoanalytical phrase) superego intact. This sociopathic tale still maintains a warped charm(?) with a less expected turn of events regarding just who is the worst protagonist ultimately.
It could be described as a 'romp', but it's too dark for that; one of those films I loved to watch, sort of, but will probably not watch again...not because I didn't like it!
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Sightseers review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso
With a start so washed out and down beat I thought I was watching a Mike Leigh film Sightseers is a British black comedy about a couple whose first trip away together turns into a bizarre killing spree.
The film begins with Tina at home with her mother who is grieving audibly for their dearly departed dog, Poppy, who has died in some kind of accident that she holds Tina responsible for. Soon Chris, Tina’s new beau, arrives and the two head off on a caravan holiday of England, much against her mother’s wishes.
However a second accident in which the couple kill an irritating tourist causes Chris to realise that he can bump off anyone who annoys him and from there the two travel the country, killing and making love.
A weirdly muted Bonnie and Clyde style story Sightseers has some really great moments to it, the performances are very good whilst the story, though a little slow in places, in certainly an unusual one. The comparison to the aforementioned bank robbing anti-heroes ends very swiftly however as combined Tina and Chris have about as much charisma as an old teabag; yet this is part of what makes their little story so strangely enjoyable. You don’t particularly like the characters yet through their deeds you begin to understand them and see them fulfilling long ignored desires and needs.
Unfortunately however there isn’t quite enough clout to the story to keep it going all the way through – despite the film’s short runtime there’s a notable sag in the middle – whilst the various kills roll slowly towards the climax rather than building tension as they occur. All in all Sightseers is certainly different and in this it is quite refreshing, however it’s just not quite enough to really hit its target.