As a boy, Graham was always keen on chemistry. When he is introduced to a deadly chemical he begins to conduct experiments on his cruel family namely by slowly poisoning his mother. Shortly after her death Graham is caught for her murder and sentenced to a mental institution. With help and treatment from a physiatrist, Graham is rehabilitated and released into the community. But can his love of poison be controlled?
I first saw this in the cinema many years ago and held off writing a review because I wanted to be sure that I could give it a fair review memory not that great you know. So I watched it on channel 4 last week and was quite taken aback I didn't remember it being quite that dark and disturbed. The plot is quite like Kind Hearts & Coronets in the set up and delivery (more in the delivery) but is a lot darker and more cruel than that classic. The comedy is of the very dark type and mostly comes from Graham's narration. His narration plays his acceptance of very shocking events as run-of-the-mill things that happen in the background, this juxtaposition works well and makes it funny.
The actual poisonings are not always easy to laugh through, while some of his mother's ordeal is played for laughs, most of it is quite cruel and upsetting. I think it worked well for playing the audience on the fact that we didn't quite know what this was it was based on a true story yet was played for laughs as well as serious at times. However this same ploy is to it's weakness as it is difficult to settle into for this same reason. The director seems very assured and handles this better, mixing inappropriate music with the action as well as directing it very flat and clinically.
O'Conor is the perfect choice for the role. Onscreen he is cold and cruel but it is his narration is where he excels delivering perfectly deadpan lines. The support cast are all OK but mostly play exaggerated characters on the whole British stereotypes and such. The film wisely leaves them as undeveloped this because if we cared too much for them or related to them then it would have been impossible to feel anything but revulsion for Graham. As cardboard cutouts they seem less than Graham in terms of the film (wonder how the real victims' families felt about this view).
Overall this is a strange film but one that has enough going for it to be worht watching. However it should be noted that it is quite cruel and upsetting we are not allowed to feel anything for Graham's victims. The humour is rarely laugh out loud funny and this will probably only be for those who like their comedy very dark.
I first saw this in the cinema many years ago and held off writing a review because I wanted to be sure that I could give it a fair review memory not that great you know. So I watched it on channel 4 last week and was quite taken aback I didn't remember it being quite that dark and disturbed. The plot is quite like Kind Hearts & Coronets in the set up and delivery (more in the delivery) but is a lot darker and more cruel than that classic. The comedy is of the very dark type and mostly comes from Graham's narration. His narration plays his acceptance of very shocking events as run-of-the-mill things that happen in the background, this juxtaposition works well and makes it funny.
The actual poisonings are not always easy to laugh through, while some of his mother's ordeal is played for laughs, most of it is quite cruel and upsetting. I think it worked well for playing the audience on the fact that we didn't quite know what this was it was based on a true story yet was played for laughs as well as serious at times. However this same ploy is to it's weakness as it is difficult to settle into for this same reason. The director seems very assured and handles this better, mixing inappropriate music with the action as well as directing it very flat and clinically.
O'Conor is the perfect choice for the role. Onscreen he is cold and cruel but it is his narration is where he excels delivering perfectly deadpan lines. The support cast are all OK but mostly play exaggerated characters on the whole British stereotypes and such. The film wisely leaves them as undeveloped this because if we cared too much for them or related to them then it would have been impossible to feel anything but revulsion for Graham. As cardboard cutouts they seem less than Graham in terms of the film (wonder how the real victims' families felt about this view).
Overall this is a strange film but one that has enough going for it to be worht watching. However it should be noted that it is quite cruel and upsetting we are not allowed to feel anything for Graham's victims. The humour is rarely laugh out loud funny and this will probably only be for those who like their comedy very dark.