Dancin' Thru the Dark

I am reflective of the age of the cast in this movie and saw it when it came out and it really hit the mark with me. Many of the actors in it have had pretty solid careers on TV but I am amazed that at least some of them like Con O'Neil never really hit the big time. Suffice to say if you are a Generation X'er like myself and have not seen this film I advice you to give it a go next time it is on the TV it really takes you back to pub and club life and the pro's and cons of life back then for working class men and women.

True love overcomes in this brilliant film based on Willy Russell's play "Stags And Hens." Set in the pubs and clubs of Liverpool, a bride-to-be, her fiance and her ex-boyfriend are the main ingredients in a dry comedy where the dialogue is sharp and funny and the drama is surprisingly absorbing. Excellent casting with Con O'Neil and Claire Hackett performing superbly in the lead roles. The soundtrack is quite good too.

dancin thru the dark is one of my favourite films. I love the grittiness of the way Liverpool is portrayed. The characters are really believable. Mark womaks character is very well acted. Con o'neills character is so lovely.I would love to know more about the exact locations of the club and the Italian restaurant used in the film.I'd love to visit where they were filmed as i go to Liverpool sometimes. i am a huge fan of all of Willy Russell's films and plays. he's a fantastic writer.I love Shirley valentine the most. Pauline Collins portrayal of Shirley is amazing, she brings such a feeling of warmth and realism and humour to the character. I feel that Julie Walters character in Educating Rita is portrayed by her with such compassion. You really feel for her as she try's to better her life to a one she knows she is capable of achieving. All his writing appears to show his leads desperately want more from their lives than they appear to be getting.They all feel there has to be more!

A beautiful film, which captures the sadness, squalor and decay of post-Beatles Liverpool and the wasted young lives of those growing up there. It is a sort-of musical comedy, with a superb ensemble of well-rounded characters, all desperate in their different ways, with talents and flaws. Even Mark Womack as Eddie is not a mere stage villain, but rather an embittered and unstable but loyal friend.

The theme is simple - leaving home - and the execution brilliant. The early scenes, as a London rock group encounters the horrors of run-down Liverpool - predatory kids and a hostile pub - are hilarious. The theatrical origins of the film are retained with the most dramatic scenes staged in the ladies' and gents' toilets of a down-town disco. The plot is so straightforward as to be trite, but the writing (by Willy Russell from his stage play), the energetic direction by Mike Ockrent and the vitality of the performances make this a film to remember.

A gang of stags and hens end up in the same nightclub the night before a wedding with obvious and dramatic results.

Throw in a travelling band and a lead singer ( Con O'Neill ) who is an old flame of the bride to be and you have a very powerful mix indeed.

Most of the drama takes place in the toilets and themes explored previously by the writer are displayed here.

Class and escaping from the drabness of your lot like in his previous works are once again the main themes of this film .

However away from all this are some great comedy moments from a very good cast and also a great soundtrack.

All I will say is if you need cheering up watch this film and revel at some of the weird and wonderful scenes .

My favourite is the angry husband who come looking for his Madonna lookalike wife who has hooked up with one of the stags.

He turns up shouting whilst eating an apple and then drags her out. Quite what the relevance of this scene is I have no idea but it adds to the quirkiness of the whole thing .