The Unabatedly Stupid Film Project - 8: Cemetery Junction (2010)

Cemetery Junction is essentially a coming of age story, which isn't shit. Written, directed and occasionally starring Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant the story centres around three youths who have finished school and are looking for their direction in life in Redding, England in the early seventies. Gervais lived in Redding and grew up precisely in this point in time, so it's clear to see that this film is very personal. If you're a fan of Gervais' comedy you'll also also see certain aspects of his personality and history bubble to the surface in this fictionalised memoir.

It's no secret that Gervais worked in an office for many years before pursuing his dream (hence, The Office) and this is apparent in this film. The main character is beginning his career selling life insurance and it turns out to be a wholly soulless endeavour and he ends up wanted to take off into the world, looking for 'real life.' This presents a problem as the film frames 'getting out' as a solution to all problems. In fact, the opposite is true, rather than solving all your problems, running away would simply compound them. The thing that presents a challenge to these young adults is not their geographical location but their socio-economic status. You can be poor in Redding or poor in London and the result is much the same. I understand the need to 'get out' as much as the next person, but perhaps if some of these characters had some sort of ambition or dream that couldn't be attained in their town it would've made a more cohesive narrative.

The music was great, a selection of british and american rock music from the period sets the background for all the change occurring at the time. The hippy movement was only just starting to breakthrough and conservative, white-bread, working-class families were finally being confronted with liberal values. It's actually really funny hearing some of the dated conversation topics that passed as totally normal in the day: Elton John is looking for a wife. Black people are stealing our jobs and National Geographic was porn. The irony is not lost on Gervais' audience, but the traditional narrative device of a love story perhaps limits the real depth that this film could've aspired to. The social commentary could've been more biting, the irony more clear and the violence more gritty. Essentially it was a whitewashed BBC film version of what Gervais' childhood might have been like.

The film isn't a comedy and shouldn't be marketed as such. Don't go looking for a laugh, because even though you'll find a few, it's not the focus of the film. Gervais and Merchant are great at crafting day to day dialogue and that's why their shows have been so successful. However, their ability at crafting a feature length film is still in its infancy and this film reflects that. Sure there's some swearing and some hints of cringe humour that made The Office and Extras so successful but this can't, nor should this be, the crux of the film. Essentially this is a story that has been covered in the same time and place by people who've done it better. The Boat That Rocked and The History Boys immediately come to mind.

Gervais takes a back seat in this one and I think that's good. He'll make an excellent director one day - but it takes many years to get to that point and he has a lot of work ahead of him. I'll be excited to see the next film the Gervais/Merchant team puts together, but until that time I can only follow their work in anticipation of the greatness I know they're capable of.

The fact is I really wanted to like it, but for all the expectations I placed on it, the film continued to fall short. It wasn't a bad film - it just could've been better. Some honourable mentions should go to Emily Watson and Felicity Jones for some of the most powerful, touching portrayals of women in that period to date - they really took the show. I give this film a 5/10. It was watchable and interesting but I think I expected more than it could deliver.

- jt