Rating of
3/4
"Cemetery Junction" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/24/12
A group of friends tired of their suffocating existence in a working class suburb in the 1970s look for ways to escape to a better life. Cemetery Junction is very much a nostalgic trip back in time to a period when an aspirational working class looked to escape their roots, only to be restricted by their own lack of exposure to a world they had no experience of. It's strange to think how over a few short years the internet has transformed the world in this way; the working classes of the 70s were mired in "I expect my dinner on the table" sexism and racism born of ignorance rather than malice simply because they knew no better. Christian Cooke's central character represents the hopes and dreams of a young man wanting more than a life spent at a soul destroying factory job but soon realises that a life at a soul destroying office job doesn't seem much more appealing despite the carrot of the trappings of the upper middle class. The support provided by a very charismatic and chiselled Tom Hughes seems like the first steps of a future star and Gervais' hilariously ignorant 70s family provide some very funny moments. Very much in the same vein as the sitcoms of Clement and Frenais, it may stick to a well worn formula of feelgood romanticism but it has enough in the way of well observed comedy and likeable characters to make you enjoy the journey. Shane Meadows lite.
