Sightseers (2012)

Sightseers: Directed by Ben Wheatley. With Alice Lowe, Eileen Davies, Steve Oram, Roger Michael. Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn.

“SIGHTSEERS is very much a team effort: the two stars (Alice Lowe and Steve Oram) also co-wrote the script. With a distinct nod to earlier films such as Terrence Malicku0026#39;s BADLANDS (1973), it focuses on two lovers, Tina and Chris, who embark on a caravanning holiday that takes a decidedly bloody turn, as they dispose of several innocent victims. Ben Wheatleyu0026#39;s cinematic style is certainly startling, with its deliberate use of out-of-sync sound, fantasy sequences, memorable short of gore and a soundtrack that includes work by Soft Cell and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The script is deadpan yet extremely funny: both protagonists get some valuable one-liners. What is perhaps more interesting, however, is Wheatleyu0026#39;s focus on his charactersu0026#39; lives; hitherto they have spent their entire existences in total anonymity: Tina has lived with her mother Carol (Eileen Davies), and lavished all her love on a favorite terrier, who was unfortunately impaled to death on some knitting-needles. The road-trip gives Tina the chance to liberate herself, just like Chris, who dreams of becoming a full-time writer after having been made redundant. The idea of u0026quot;writingu0026quot; is significant; it suggest the desire to leave a legacy, to inscribe oneself in the present so as to be remembered. When Chrisu0026#39; writing dreams come to naught, he looks for alternative ways to establish himself; hence his desire to kill so as not to be pushed around by anyone (i.e. treated as a nobody). Tina follows suit; but what Wheatley suggests is that the two of them find it very difficult to work as a team – Chris believes that Tina has plagiarized his idea, and resents her for what she has done. Two serial killers donu0026#39;t attract as much media attention as one. For her part, Tina learns how to acquire self-determination, even though there are moments when she doubts herself. The filmu0026#39;s ending takes us by surprise, reminding us that the protagonists were not as much in love as we thought they were. With its Grand Guignol action taking place against a breathtaking backdrop of the rolling hills of Yorkshire and the Lake District, SIGHTSEERS is strong meat, but definitely worth staying with.”