Ok, here goes...my first film review...eek!

(Film only review)

On a recent wet Saturday afternoon we decided to have a blitz of our local Blockbusters and have a film fest to make the most of being stuck indoors without having to resort to cleaning, decorating or ironing! One of the films we chose was A Lonely Place To Die. Admittedly, this was mostly my choice as, unlike most other couples we know, I am the action movie fan whilst my other half usually goes for more arty farty "with artistic integrity" type films. I'm gradually teaching him that sometimes it's ok to watch something just for sheer enjoyment and escapism and not everything has to "make you think"! So we settled down to watch this, number 2 in our hoard.

Plot.
A group of 5 mountaineers are enjoying a break in Scotland with plans to 'bag some munroes'. On their first outing they hear a noise during a drinks break and a brief investigation reveals a little girl in obvious distress trapped in a box underground with only a pipe to provide her with air. She has no water, no food and is in school uniform. Determined to get her to safety, but in the middle of nowhere, they set off to the nearest town but quickly realise they're not alone out there. I don't want to tell you any more as it would spoil things if you decide to watch it yourself.

Characters.
I found these to be slightly confusing. We start with two men and a woman climbing a rock face. The woman (Melissa George) has obviously climbed with one of the men before and knows him quite well, but doesn't seem to know the other one as well, or like him much either. This is further exacerbated when they have a potentially fatal accident whilst climbing. They later meet up with another couple at their holiday cottage and there is immediate tension between several members of the group and it is never explained how they all know each other and why they're holidaying together. I for one didn't understand why, when there was obvious tension and dislike between certain members, they would choose to do a trust-dependent activity like rock-climbing with each other! First unbelievable aspect.

Having said that, the relationships between them do develop well and much more believably when they are thrust into a tense and dangerous situation, with the inevitable arguments and disagreements about how best to proceed. What I did find slightly incredulous was that one of the male characters wanted to leave the little girl where she was and carry on with their trip. Second unbelievable aspect! Rapidly followed by the adults deciding to split up to make a potential rescue faster. Third unbelievable aspect!

The acting was very good overall, if slightly let down by gaps in the story, by a mostly unknown (to me) cast, including Melissa George, Kate Magowan (the only two I recognised), Ed Speelers and Sean Harris. The portrayal of the little girl I thought was particularly well-acted by Holly Boyd.

Development.
The film gathered pace quickly and definitely kept me gripped and on the edge of my seat. In some ways it was exactly the kind of film that I like (think Die Hard, Behind Enemy Lines, Taken...yes, I'm an action junkie!) and, whilst I understand and appreciate that reality sometimes has to take a backseat for the sake of excitement and tension, I don't like it when things turn out to be totally unbelievable. Unfortunately this film quickly descended into farce the closer it got to the end with more guns and fire than even John McClanes worst shoot out - all this in the remote Scottish Highlands remember!

Overall opinion.
This film started off very promisingly and I was quite excited by the thought of watching it. The cinematography was excellent with no need to rely on computer generated whoop de doos. The director relied on lots of close up shots and enough artistic filming to keep the hubby happy. With plentiful aerial shots of the beautiful landscape you really got a feel for the remoteness and beauty of where they were (incidentally, the location of our wedding, one of the reasons we chose the film in the first place!) and the close ups helping to maintain the tension and overall threatening atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the further along in the story we got, the more totally unbelievable the plot became and by the time the final scenes came around I was feeling thoroughly short changed. I'd had such high hopes for this film, but at the end of it my husband got the chance to utter those inevitable-argument-provoking words "I told you so"!!!