shoolaroon
I may be going overboard with the rating, but I would definitely give it no less than 8, and I want to encourage people to see this movie. I kind of rolled my eyes at the beginning as I thought it was a bit indulgent and over the top, but once the story got rolling, I was captivated by the lead character, British filmmaker Noah Arkwright, and his stumbling battle towards both sobriety and becoming a family man. Noah is so abrasive, profane and cynical, that while he's bitingly funny, at first you don't feel much sympathy. He reminded me of Gordon Ramsay. But when he's in the sober house and encounters the spirit of his mother, who died at his birth, I found myself deeply touched as well. We assume so much about people but it turns out we really don't know them at all and why they turned out a certain way. Noah meets the right woman and has a lovely child, but his past life of debauchery starts to catch up with him in the form of recurrent bouts of cancer. Even at its darkest this film never loses its humor or its humanity. The last half hour or so can be quite harrowing with Noah's medical treatments, but it's never depressing. The end is really, really well done and surprising, and really touched me. I don't think I will ever forget this film, and I'm eager to find my own copy now. A truly great film about addiction, sickness, spirituality, and the healing power of love.
Carl Fitzgerald
The opening five minutes or so of this film sit so uneasily with the rest of it that I'm inclined to wonder if they were a veiled satire of the state of most modern British cinema with it's desperate eagerness to please and self conscious coolness. Lets just say these initial scenes almost made me switch off. I'm glad I didn't.What follows is a glorious mess of a film. A tumble of ideas and emotion mixed up and thrown at the screen. 'Dangerous Parking' is worthy to be included with Nic Roeg's most frustrating, delirious and brilliant output. It's rare to see a film that doesn't compromise or treat it's audience like a tested demographic. This film deserves to be seen and felt by people who love cinema. Watching Peter Howitt's performance is like watching a drowning man. Uncomfortable but compelling.
Trevski
I have read the book after seeing the trailer for the movie and wasn't overawed by it, but last week saw the movie and I have to say that Mr Howitt has created a work of genius.He has managed to take all the tat out of the book and turn it into one fantastic movie. Admittedly it would be difficult to follow with the time flips if you hadn't read the book and the film is based in the UK as opposed to the US in the most part in the book.But what a movie. Shocked by the ending, but what a ride all the way there. It was a movie that stayed with me all day the next day after watching it - it made me laugh, cry and feel emotive towards Noah - the anti-hero.It will be the next Trainspotting for cult status. It was the only film in an awful long time that I wanted to watch again the next day to absorb everything that went on. Peter - you have managed to turn a good book into a wicked movie. I just cannot understand why it wasn't bigger, when you see the tat that the big studios release and earn millions - why was this not one of them? Wonders never cease.My name is my own!
Alistair Newlands
What an unexpected Gem, British film making minus Danny Dyer minus Guy Ritchie minus Colin Firth = ' Excellent '
Don't switch off after the first 5 minutes as this could be our typical British flop. Narration,, freeze frame ,, loser introspective rewind, loads of swearing, attitude, over use of flashback etc However the film draws you in . And succeeds through the bombastic central performance from its lead Peter Howit through the effective use of narration and non chronological story telling, all too often exploited in modern cinema On reflection this is a modern day shakespearean tragedy .. A triumph in modern cinema which succeeds in making you laugh whilst conveying a very sad and poignant message of one mans search for redemption With a raw honesty served on a plate of hilarious self destructive loathing the narrator introduces his world of drug fuelled decadence with at times hilarious results, before his admission to rehab in an effort to resurrect his life . The latter part of the film turns decidedly dark and is at times difficult viewing so be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster.. Try and imagine Ivan's XTC meets Trainspotting meets Witnail and I ? I !A MUST SEE