Film Reviews

Sixty Six

• Rating:
• Director: Paul Weiland
• Starring: Eddie Marsan
• Details: UK / 93mins (12A).

What happens when you take a little East Is East, give it a Wes Anderson-style makeover and set it during the 1966 World Cup? A charming little film that will have you sitting there with a silly grin on your face throughout, that's what. Shy Bernie Rueben (Sulkin) is turning thirteen and, for a Jewish boy, that's the first massive step to manhood. Nothing is more important to him than his upcoming Bar Mitzvah - not even England's chances of winning the World Cup. But when he finds out that the final is on the same date as his Bar Mitzvah, Bernie sinks into depression, convinced that England will get there and no one will come to his shindig. To make matters worse, his father's grocery business is failing and it looks like the grandiose party he has planned is over before it even starts. Sixty Six introduces you to all the quirky characters that will play a part in young Bernie's life in a Royal Tenenbaums-esque intro, and that humour continues throughout the movie. The gags come at a relentless pace, and even though they hit more than they miss, the writers (debutants Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan) sometimes try too hard to get the audience on their side; if they were a little subtler, Sixty Six would be a minor classic. All involved deliver cracking performances, and the more experienced talent stand back and let newcomer Sulkin take centre stage, which he does with confidence. He is closely followed by his on-screen father Eddie Marsan as his pitiable grocer and Helena Bonham Carter his fretting mother.

Review by Gavin Burke