froydon This film perfectly illustrates a quote by Orson Welles: "We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone."

akcampbell-1 Loved this film until the bus accident, I couldn't take it seriously after that. A bus knocks somebody down and kills them in the UK for every 27 million miles travelled. How likely is it that somebody as meticulous as John May would be standing there at the time? 66% of people in the UK don't believe in ghosts, so like me they won't buy into the final scene. Take the ghosts away and all you are left with is a cruel irony, a lonely man spends his life trying to get people to care enough to go to the funerals of other socially isolated people who died alone, probably because of his fear of this happening to him, and then nobody goes to his. I watched a beautifully acted, nuanced, poignant film for 1 hour 20 minutes followed by a load of rubbish for the last 10 minutes. Don't think I've ever been so disappointed by the ending of a film.

landy_mike It's difficult to find a film that touches many of the emotions that this one does. Billed as a comedy drama, I'm not sure that fits. There is drama and there is comedy, but not in any extreme way.The story is quaint. John May is a detective, but not in the usual sense: he is tasked by the local borough council to find relatives of deceased residents of the council. Eddie Marsden plays a dedicated, humble employee of the council who provides people with one last opportunity for dignity, by arranging their funeral - until one day he is told by his boss that he is no longer needed and has one last 'case' to investigate. Thus he is sent on one final quest - to find the relatives of Billy Stoke.It is a film about death, but it is not morbid. The film has a meandering pace, although this is not a criticism. The scenes unfold as if one were pausing to take in the enormity of what we are seeing, as if we were at a funeral observing, for the first time, the life being celebrated.However, what really excels is the way that all the elements of film-making work together to make this an enjoyable watch. The cinematography (I'm reminded of those great movies from the 1950s), the screen writing, the Art Direction, music, sound, all add to what is a well directed piece from a veteran of the cinema. There's a lovely subtle dialogue exchange in the morgue about a Dodo - you need to watch this to get it - that expresses so well the understated yet genius nature of this film.If you love Transformers, you'll hate this movie. I love this film. Each viewing reveals information that was missed. It's one, I should think, I shall watch a good number of times.

Tom Dooley Eddie Marsan plays Mr. May who worked for London Borough of Kennington as the man who traces the relatives of people who have died alone. He then arranges for their 'send offs' often being the only person in attendance. He has no family and struggles to understand those that have what he does not have and yet readily shun it. Then his obnoxious boss tells him they are 'downsizing' the department and merging with a neighbouring council. He is told to close the case on his last assignment and clear out. He decides he will find out who this lonely man was and he sets out on a journey to discover this man's past and in so doing he starts to live himself.This is just a wonderful film – full of hope, loneliness, pathos and even love. Marsan is always excellent and here he carries the film, but is supported by a cast who are all excellent too – Joanne Froggatt as Kelly Stoke brings real warmth and humanity to a role which sees her with limited screen time – so is all the more noticeable for it. This is a film for people who think, who care and who want to understand more about life and death – absolutely recommended.